


Stress resistance

by Calanthedeservedbetter



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: Angst, Bullying (implied), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everything is happening around Sky but he's not really a mc, Gen, Ghirahim is his own warning, Guilt, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Hylia help me these tags are mess, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Now that it's finished i would call it a loosely connected one shots, Self-Blame, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, Sky has issues, Sky/Sun (implied), Sun is so so sweet, Writing Exercise, and by a lot i mean more than legend, bc i cant always get the perspective right, centered around sky but written from different perspective, four swears a lot, it depends, it's like 5+1 fic but not really?, it's more like a writing exercise to my main fic, let's stay with writing exercise, someone please give this poor boy a cup of melissa, summary? characters are mostly talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:29:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26791411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calanthedeservedbetter/pseuds/Calanthedeservedbetter
Summary: The pressure of being a hero isn't something everyone can take.----Probably a 5+1 fic but we will see where it goes.
Relationships: Sky (Linked Universe) & Everyone
Comments: 34
Kudos: 181





	1. Twilight

Twilight made his way through the bushes. Rough branches scratched his sides. If he didn't have the natural protection in the form of coarse fur, he probably would have been all in scratches. He shook himself out. With his hind leg he pulled off a piece of twig that got tangled around his neck.

It was getting late. The sun was no longer a yellow ball suspended high in the sky, but a glowing red semicircle slowly disappearing over the horizon. Soon the sun would completely go down.

_Not good._

He ran past several pines lined up in a row. He avoided the remains of puddles. He didn't like having wet paws. Everything was sticking to them then.

He passed a fallen tree trunk. The trees in this forest were of minor construction. Thin, with delicate leaves. No wonder that after yesterday's downpour, many have been knocked down. Some even uprooted.

If they hadn't found shelter in the form of a cave in time, it might have been just as bad with them.

The wind blew. A couple of golden leaves flew by his nose.

Even in his animal form, he felt it getting colder.

He heard a resonant twang. Harp. Yes it was without a doubt.

He pricked up his ears. He was waiting. Another clang. His right ear twitched. He ran towards it, following the sound.

Then he noticed him. Sky was sitting on the trunk of one of the fallen trees. He was slightly hunched over. His face focused. He pulled on a few strings, but before they could all sound out, his slender fingers tightened around them. He sighed heavily.

Twilight had already begun to withdraw so that he could change in a secluded place, but the other hero prevented him.

"Wolfie? What are you doing here buddy?" Sky lifted his head up and tilted it to the side.

Twilight stopped mid-step. It didn’t really matter when he changed. He can do it later on watch. What was important was to bring the daydreamer to the campsite before the sun will go down completely.

Twilight walked over to the sitting boy.

In fact, he was a bit surprised. He had expected Sky to fall asleep in the woods, not lost track of time playing.

He sat down at his side. Sky reached out to pet him, but pulled back immediately when Twilight showed his teeth. He bit his lower lip.

"...It's okay. I just wanted to get the leaves from behind your ear. That's all..." He looked to the side.

Leaves? Now that he mentioned it, he actually felt something pinching him in this place. He had to not get rid of everything. He hid his teeth and nuzzled the back of Sky’s hand. It was cold. Sky looked at him questioningly, but when Twilight continued, he put the harp aside and began to pull the leaves out of his fur.

"I'm done." He smiled and ran a sweeping motion over his head. Twilight growled and bared his teeth. "Okay I'm sorry. Im not gonna do it again." Then he added softly. "For now"

Twilight jumped on Sky and rolled him over on his back without much trouble. He landed in damp mud. Sky suppressed a groan of surprise.

"Okay, okay I give up! You got me. Goddess, sometimes I think you can actually hear what I say."

Twilight almost smiled at that. But he still didn't get off of him.

Sky tried to throw him off, but Twilight was too heavy for him. Hero of Twilight enjoyed the way the boy clumsily tried to break free, squirming left and right. He should know better than to play with him. It didn’t matter in which form.

But then he saw his hands. Pink with numerous fine nicks. He looked at him closely. His hair was messy too. Face stained with dirt. Clothes in the sand... What happened to him? Someone threw sand at him? Beaten him? Twilight felt something start to boil inside him and pinching under his skin. He growled.

Sky looked at him uncomprehendingly. Twilight stepped away from him. The setting sun made his whole face shine while his hair took on a rusty glow.

The boy staggered to his feet, as if expecting him to pounce on him at any moment. When he didn't, he started dusting off his clothes. He even started getting rid of the mud on the back of his shirt. Twilight barked at that.

_What is this kid doing? He wants to soil the wounds?_

Sky just shot him a brief look and continued. Twilight barked again, but to no avail.

Twilight leapt at him again. Sky dodged.

_He learns quickly._

_Too quickly._

"What’s going on, Wolfie? You want me to go back all muddy to the camp?"

_As long as you leave the mud alone_ , he thought, _yes, I want you to._

He nodded.

"You are impossible..." He sighed and walked towards the trunk he was sitting earlier. He sat on it and was about to pick up the instrument when he noticed his hands. He grimaced and muttered a curse. Twilight cocked his head to the side. It... It was a rare sight. He wasn't sure when the last time he saw- If he had he ever seen him grimace. He didn’t like it. The expression didn’t suit him. It didn’t match his delicate face.

Sky wiped his hands on the front of his pants. It didn't clean his hands completely, but at least it was less muddy now. Twilight walked over to him.

"...Always against me, huh?" He said distractedly, and Twilight stopped half a step. Was he talking to him? "I always forget something, overlook something or..."

"Why... Why is it so hard to--"

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. They were stuck together and dirty now-- well more than before.

"Sometimes, sometimes I wish I was a wolf like you" Sky looked at the horizon. "Not having to deal with this-- all of this--" he rubbed his face with his hand. "What am I even saying?" He smiled, but there was something broken about it. "After all you are sitting here with me."

Twilight raised a paw to take a step. But he hesitated. He didn't move.

"No, on second thought I'd rather be a loftwing. They are free, beautiful and can fly, what more could someone want?" The corners of his mouth twitched.

A loftwing? Twilight had heard the name but couldn't assign it to any animal. Why did it sound so familiar?

"Although you know... I'd rather not. Loftwings are tied to someone for the rest of their lives. They have to protect their soulmate. And it's beautiful, I think it’s the most stunning bond on the whole surface, but I wouldn't be fit for something like that." He laughed bitterly. "I would probably oversleep when my soulmate fell to meet their death. I would be quite a useless loftwing, don’t you think?"

Sky shivered. His whole body shook. He put his arms around his form. He probably wanted to get it under control. It didn’t work out well for him.

"I couldn't--" his voice cracked, but he continued. "I couldn't save my loved one. So how could I save my so-soulmate in time?" He shook again. Twilight walked over to him. He jumped the front of his body onto his lap. He stuck his head up. He licked a lonely tear running slowly down his cheek. He shuddered again. But it wasn't from the cold as he had previously suspected. He tried to keep himself from crying. Unsuccessfully.

More tears streamed down his face, but he stubbornly pressed his lips together to make sure no sound came out. When he spoke he was breathing heavily.

"I hate it-- I-- I--” his voice was small yet strong at the same time. “I hate it _all_! I want to hate Ghirahim, I want to hate Demise, I want to hate Fi, I want to hate _Hylia_ , but-- but I can't-- because I know it's my fault. Nobody’s else and--" Twilight pressed closer. "Oh Goddess what am I even saying? How could I-- _I didn't mean it!_ _I swear! I have to find a temple, I have to find-- I must--_ ”

Twilight nudged him in the chest. Sky seemed to have just realized he was here. More tears appeared on his face. But there was something else a thin trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. He had to bite his lip or his tongue.

And then Sky did something he didn't expect. He embraced him and pressed his face into his fur. Chills filled his body. A soft whine escaped his throat, but was drowned out by his fur. He apologized frantically as if it were the only words he knew.

Twilight didn't know how long they were sitting there, but when Sky moved away from him, there was no sign of the sun. There was an overwhelming darkness all around them.

Perhaps it was better that he wasn't in human form. Now, at least he could find a way to the camp. Sky rubbed his face with his hands. He took the harp in his hands. He ran his finger along one string. He got up, looking around. Although it was dark, Twilight could easily see him shaking.

"I've lost track of time... again. Goddess, Everyone's probably worried about me... I'm the worst, aren't I?" He didn't like where Sky was going with this. He needed him to stop. He needed to get him to the camp. To stop thinking like that. But he couldn’t do much right now.

Twilight tugged at his trouser leg. Sky obediently followed him.

"Well, at least one of us is reasonable," he laughed, but there was a hint of bitterness to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think while in wolfie's form Twi became terrible protective. For example treating Sky as a kid even though they're the same age.  
> \---  
> Tbh I started writting it when I was feeling low and didn't have time or patience to write something more complicated like my main fic, but continuead because it gave me a lot of fun. 
> 
> And here we are. 
> 
> The chapters are going to be short (around 1000-1500 words) I have almost all of them written but they need a proper translation.
> 
> And again English isn't my first language so I'm sorry if there are any kind of misakes.


	2. Legend

"And here I thought you were a sensible one!" Legend said, drenching the wound with the spirit. "You should be grateful to me for even wanting to treat your wound at all after hiding it for two days!"

Sky said nothing. His face tightened as the liquid met the open skin. But there was no sound other than a gasp through his teeth. Legend raised an eyebrow at him. _As if he thought he was some fucking martyr._

"What were you even thinking? The wound could get infected! How stupid can you be?" Legend was already irritated by this. After each fight, he had to scrutinize each hero for strange postures, distortions, and signs of pain. A few days ago, he might have considered himself a master of detail - but again, the proof of his failure sat in front of him.

A proof of failure with a ragged wound on the shoulder that stretched eight centimeters.

He really screwed up, didn't he?

Sky said nothing. He didn't even hang his head. Something boiled inside him. _Just how shameless could he be?!_

"Why are you so silent all of sudden? Ha?"

He expected the hero in front of him to remain silent , but he didn’t.

"...Sorry" Legend narrowed his eyes. The hell with his apologies. He didn’t need them. And especially not sincere.

He reached into his bag for the ointment. He pulled out a small box of green goo. He spread it over the wound. Sky flinched at the contact. If he had had a choice, he would not have put it on an open wound, but he was not sure if anything had gone into it. _Better safe than sorry._

Sky was supposed to be the responsible one, and usually Legend wouldn't be afraid of him rolling in the mud or doing some stupid shit. But again, Sky hid the wound for two days.

"I don't want your apology. I want to know why? Why were you hiding it?" The impatience was audible in his voice. Maybe he will finally find out what was in the minds of such people.

"...I don't know."

" _Bullshit_."

Sky looked to the side. He was soft. Too soft. How could someone like that be a hero? If he had changed places with him, he probably wouldn’t have been able to cope with even half of the challenges that he faced. His eyes flared with irritation. He pressed the ointment to the open meat. Sky groaned in pain and tried to pull his arm away.

"Don't fidget." He grunted.

He finished rubbing in the ointment.

"This ointment has a healing effect on any damage. It won’t close your wound, but it will cleanse it of everything. Unfortunately, it needs at least six hours to work. I'll sew it for you tomorrow."

Sky nodded slowly.

Sky had never been overly talkative, but at the moment it irritated him even more than Warriors' excessive garrulity.

He pulled the bandage out of the bag. He began to wrap a hand from the bottom.

"I'll never understand how you can choose suffering over help. After every fight, the same thing... It's so easy to avoid, so why don't you take advantage of it..." He was talking more to himself than to Sky.

"Suffering alone is easier..." Sky muttered softly.

Legend stopped. He looked up at him. He... He spoke up... He didn't make it up, did he?

Sky's eyes wandered to the side. He was pale. The color drained completely from his face. Or maybe he was like that before? He wasn't entirely sure.

"What are you talking about?" He asked in a low voice. "How's it easier? You came to me yourself! If it's so easy, why are you sitting here in front of me shaking like a leaf? Come on, say it to my face, I want to hear it-- _I'm dying to find out!_ "

Sky gritted his teeth. Had he hit a sensitive point? _Oh, I'm so sorry..._

Legend almost rolled his eyes.

"It's easier than admitting that someone of that sort is not invincible and can waver."

"What kind? Can't you speak more clearly? I'm in no mood for guesswork." Legend continued wrapping the limb.

"A hero"

Legend thought for a moment. He seemed to understand it on one side, but on the other... He frowned. No, it still didn't make any sense.

"The fact that you have an image to maintain proves nothing," he snapped. "We are all here. And we all know what this role entails. I see no reason to hide suffering under such conditions." He paused. "You're not telling me the whole truth, Sky"

The hero hunched slightly. He adjusted the sailcloth with his free hand. He was awkward. He mumbled something.

"What were you saying? I didn't hear you."

"...I don't know. It's the only thing I can think about"

_Liar_ , thought Legend.

"Why do you think others are hiding it then? Wouldn't it be easier to get support from someone? I mean-- damn you know what I mean. Getting some meds or actual treatment"

Sky cringed even more, and if Legend had not been holding his hand in an iron grip, he would have probably curled up into a ball. Sometimes Legend forgot that the other hero was older than him. Especially when he acted like a brat.

"No," he bit his lip. "I think, I think they don’t want to show their weaknesses"

Legend finished the bandage and cut off the remaining bandage with metal scissors.

"Weaknesses?"

"That they did not avoid something, that they let themselves be approached, they did not turn out to be who they were. That they would prove inferior to other heroes."

"And you... Do you feel inferior to the others?"

Sky looked up at him. Eyes blue and clear as the sky at sunrise. But not quite. He couldn't fully describe them. Or compare to something. None of the trinkets he had had such a shade. None ever looked as sad.

Sky shook his head. But without conviction. Even the smile on his blue lips didn’t add to his authenticity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Legend is all fun till it comes to translating. Like he's probably the hardest character to translate because of his swearing, and it's not like I'm being super creative about it. Hell no. English just doesn't have enought counterparts ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	3. Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is happening before the events of Skyward Sword. Something about a year or two to be precise, but you can interpret it as you wish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need someone like Sun in my life...

"Link, stop fooling around! Everyone's waiting for us!"

The boy pressed the pillow to his head. It looked as if he was trying to hide behind it.

"I don't want to go, Zelda." He grunted. "I really don't want to. Please don't make me do this. Anyway, I'm not feeling that well. I haven't slept much and my head hurts--"

Zelda snatched the pillow from his hands. Link fumbled for a moment to determine how his last line of defense had disappeared. When he didn't find the slightest trace, he shyly glanced at Zelde out of the corner of his eye. She pressed the pillow against her chest looking annoyed.

"You never get enough sleep, so it shouldn't make any difference to you."

Link grunted and tucked his head under the quilt. Zelda rolled her eyes. She had been telling him about the picnic for a week and how important it was to her. Yesterday she even reminded him to prepare a festive clothing for himself. And what did he do? He completely ignored her.

Zelda threw the pillow to the ground and went to the closet. To her surprise all clothes were folded into neat cubes. Her cheeks prickled slightly. She was expecting a mess, and it turned out it was cleaner here than in her room. She picked up a random shirt. Red with yellow and green patterns on the sleeves. She grimaced. She won't give him something like that. She tossed the clothes behind her as if it were a cloth. Link didn’t protest and continued to pretend he wasn’t here.

She took another one. This time it was a purple and yellow flannel shirt. She blinked furiously. Link wanted to turn into a parrot or what?

Oh nevermind. As soon as they come back from the picnic, she will rake his wardrobe from top to bottom. After all, she couldn’t let her best friend dress up like some traveling juggler! She tossed another pair of clothes behind her. She was slowly starting to lose her patience. But then she found beige pants and a delicate blue shirt with flowers embroidered on the sleeves. She looked curiously at it. Zelda had never seen it before.

She ran her fingers over the thin material. Soft and blue.

_Like his eyes..._

She felt her cheeks warming up.

_It would suit him._

The tips of her ears prickled a bit. She shook her head abruptly and turned on her heel. Link watched her discreetly through the crack in the eiderdown, but when he noticed that she could see him, he covered himself tightly.

"Get up, sleepyhead, we don't have all day! My father is probably already growing impatient." She put clothes on the back of the chair. "And Pipit also wouldn’t be happy if I told him why I was late"

"You wouldn't tell him..." He muttered, but the sound was muffled by the quilt.

"What were you grumbling?" She walked over to the bed and tugged at the covers, but it persisted. Link held it tightly in his fingers. "C'mon Link, stop acting like a baby and go with me, or I'm going to tell Pipit what happened to his favorite mug!"

His eyes flashed, he clenched his finger tightly, his knuckles turned completely white.

"You _wouldn’t_ dare"

"Yes, I would!" She tugged the covers towards herself.

"And here I had you for… for a friend!"

Zelda rolled her eyes and let go of the covers. Link stumbled backward and banged his head against the hard wall.

The girl quickly pulled the covers off him and tossed it on the floor, so he wouldn’t hide under it again. Link didn't even protest. He was too busy rubbing the sore spot. Now his room looked like a mess. Zelda was kinda proud of that.

_It finally looks like someone_ **_is_ ** _actually living here._

Zalda went to the chair and threw the clothes she had chosen over his head.

"What... What is it?" he stammered in confusion.

"Your outfit"

The boy looked at a shirt and pants and then over her. Again on the clothes and on her face.

"You can't be serious"

Zelda clasped her hands behind her and walked over to him.

"I'm _deadly_ serious. You'll look _stunning_ in this." The boy looked unconvinced. He hunched slightly

"I'll look _silly_ in this. Everyone's gonna be staring at me."

"They're gonna be staring at you because you will look _amazing_. Come on, go change." She smiled sweetly. "I'll be waiting outside the academy and take my word for it, you don't want to know what I'll do if you run away."

She was about to leave when Link called her name.

"Hmm?" She muttered, turning on her heel.

"Zelda... I-- I really don’t, I don't want to go there" he raised his head up and looked her straight in the eye. "I'll spoil everything, and anyway they all--" he paused and hung his head.

Zelda frowned her beautiful eyebrows. What was he talking about?

“They all _what_? "She closed the door and stepped closer. "Link?"

"They all _hate_ me," he said softly.

Zelda waved her hand at it. Although she felt a twinge in her heart. As if someone had stabbed her with a sharpened icicle.

Of course she knew, about his… He has always been the shy kid. The sensitive one. The one sitting in the corner looking at others with admiration glimmering in his sad eyes, but never approaching anyone. It was Zelda who first talked to him. After some time he started to open a little. Sitting closer to others and sometimes walking over to her. Starting a conversation...

And then came Groose.

And still refused to go away.

...She might understand his point of view but she refused to acknowledge it as a right one.

"Don't be ridiculous, they _don't_ hate you" she stated.

"How can you be so sure...?"

She rolled her eyes.

"You're being dramatic, it's just a picnic"

"Zelda I--"

The boy looked like he was on the verge of tears. His eyes glazed over, and he tried to hold back the excessive blinking so the tears wouldn't fall down. Zelda sat down next to him and cupped his face in her hands. She lifted it up and approached him so that they were centimeters apart. Link took a deep breath and looked away. His cheeks turned to a pretty shade of pink. Zelda would probably find it a lovely sight if it weren't for the fact that it was probably caused by holding back tears.

"Hey, look at me" she ran her thumb over his warm and soft cheek. "Hey?"

Link met her eyes uncertainly. They were blue. _Yes, that shirt would definitely suit him._

Zelda shifted even closer. But this time Link's broadened eyes were fixed on her and only her.

"You are the most _wonderful_ person in the whole world. You are an _incredible_ friend, and one of the _bravest_ people I know." She wiped the lonely tear that ran down his cheek with a fingertip. "I'm _proud_ to be your friend"

"Zelda--"

"So please don't say that everyone hates you. Even if that was true, I would _still_ be here for you. _Even if the whole world wanted you dead I would be on your side_."

"Zel--"

"It's gonna be alright, _I promise you_. And I swear to Hylia that I will fight whoever makes you feel uncomfortable. So please, don't be sad, dress up, and come with me to that picnic"

She came even closer and... poked his nose.

Link's face turned red. His eyes widened in shock.

"It's gonna be fine, you'll see. You'll find me next to the cafeteria. Don't keep me waiting!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nuh-uh, Sun, making friends is not so easy as you think it is...


	4. Wild

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was almost midnight.

The campsite was set up, the dinner eaten. The fire glowed with a vivid yet dimmer light. Everyone was getting ready to sleep. Everyone except him and Legend who decided to take the first watch. He ran his eyes over the nine dirty bowls lying next to him. He frowned.

He would have gone to sleep himself too, but he had one more thing to do.

He walked over to the hero of Sky lying on the sidelines. He wasn’t asleep yet. Good. He shook him slightly.

"Hey Sky, can you help me clean up?"

The young man blinked at him with unconscious eyes. A trace of weariness crossed his face. He didn't feel like helping him and getting out of the warm, cosy sleeping bag. It was more than obvious. And even more justified. Wild understood that, but right now he needed him to work with him.

_Come on, come on--_

"Sure, I'll help you in a minute," he yawned, covering himself with his hand and smiled slightly. "Just give me a moooment"

He pulled himself out of the sleeping pad slowly. Something caught his attention. His cheekbones were... more defined? He moved closer to get a better look. _Too close!_ Their foreheads almost collided. Sky leaned back and gave him a confused look. _Damn._

"Follow me." He said dryly as if nothing happened, and turned on his heel as he stood up.

Sky sent him a worried look, but followed him without a word. His steps were sluggish. The grass and leaves made a soft thud under his weight

Legend gave them a wry look as they carried the bowls out of camp. Wild returned him with the same. 

They headed for the stream Twilight had talked about earlier. It was supposed to be nearby. The other hero described it as rather clean, but shallow.

Wild narrowed his eyes.

_Shallow streams,_ he thought, _they are the worst._ One inattentive move and the entire bowl may become full of silt.

They walked all the way in silence. Sky was probably still half-conscious, and Wild obviously kept his mouth shut. Twilight often told him that he was too impulsively to judge others and that got angry quickly. But this time, this time his plan was _perfect_. He couldn’t screw it up. There was no way he could. 

He was supposed to lead Sky to a secluded place where no one would stop them, where it was impossible to hide or escape.

At the beginning, he will start a casual conversation, and over time he will move on to things that _really_ interested him. Sky would definitely miss his true motive.

The shallow bowls were just a cover for something much more deeper.

A stream stretched out before them. Twilight's description was fairly accurate. Although it was difficult to say whether the water was actually clean. From time to time the clouds blocked the moon and everything turned to shady colors. At that moment, it was invisible, and the only source of light were a few sparks scattered across the sky. Their reflections were dancing on the water surface. They looked like some kind of forbidden, mythical flowers. Some part of Wild was constantly screaming at him to jump into the stream and grab them. 

But no. He made up his mind. He won’t jump into the water.

He’s better than that.

He’s FAR better than that.

…

_He’ll grab them tomorrow..._

He crouched down by the stream. He set the bowls in front of him. Sky did the same. He yawned again.

Wild picked up the first bowl in his hands. Pretend everything was normal, usual and--

"So how’s it go--"

"You despise _my_ job?!"

Fuck.

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

_That's not how it was--_

He knew he should jump into that damn water.

But it was too late, more bitter words flew out of him.

"Why don't you just say it to my face?" Sky looked at him with a strange mixture of surprise, shock and... concern?

Wild wanted to slap himself in the face.

"Sorry. It's nothing." He said quickly. Heat spread over his face. He felt the tips of his ears pinching. He must have screwed it up right? _He's just got it in his blood._

"No. Wild, you can't say something like that and-- It’s _not_ nothing. What's wrong?"

Sky gave him a worried look. Did... did he feel sorry for him? Did he pity him? Wild wanted no one's pity. And certainly not from him.

"You don't like my cuisine," he said through his teeth before he could stop himself. "I'm--" he took a deep breath. "I can understand it. I really do. But I can't stand it when you praise me with empty compliments! As a hero yourself, you should know that words are meaningless compared to actions."

Sky no longer looked sleepy. His eyes were wide open. But there was no understanding in them. Only pity.

His fingers tightened on the wooden bowl.

"What are you talking about?" He wanted to put a hand on his shoulder, but Wild pulled away before his fingertips touched the black cloak. "Wild?"

"I've seen you. I've seen you giving your food to others. To Twilight or Warriors. Or did you also give it to someone else?" he growled. Sky didn't flinch. He didn’t cringe. He looked to the side and adjusted the sailcloth around his neck.

"Sorry, I didn't know it was going to upset you so much, I-- I just wasn't hungry, I didn't want it to waste," he said softly and all the anger seemed to evaporate from Wild, only confusion remained. "That's all. Your food is the best. I haven't met someone who cooks better than you, and believe me, I know a few people," he made an effort to smile.

Wild blinked rapidly. _What?_

"Wait, hold on, how were you _not_ hungry? You've been acting like that for three days. Anyone would be hungry after this long!"

Wild couldn’t imagine eating just... What was Sky actually eating? Once he saw him eat two apples and a old carrot for breakfast. You can't go on something like this for a long time. Or at least in such quantity. Add to that the pace in which they were moving, the constant fights and... _How was he even standing on his feet?!_

"I just wasn't. It's not as complicated as you think," he smiled reassuringly at him. "I'm not now either"

There was a loud grumble.

Wild's eyes narrowed. Something boiled inside him. Some strength, some power, some force. He needed to do _something_. There were no second chances. _You do what you can, or you die regretting you didn’t try._ He knew it. He knew it better than anyone.

"You know what? Screw the bowls, we're going back to the campsite, I'll start a fire and cook something for you-- tell me what you want and I'll do it" he stood up, but Sky pulled him down. He fell on the other hero.

_you do what you can_

"What? You want to starve yourself to _death_?! Sky you haven't eaten anything, anything in--”

_or you die regretting you didn’t try_

“...Damn, this isn't the first time, is it?”

Sky covered his mouth with his hand. "Be quiet, you'll wake up the others!" He said in a whisper.

_you_ **_die_ ** _regretting you didn’t try_

Wild shook his hand away.

"Why should I care?! Maybe they'll knock some sense into you!"

"I'm not starving myself!” everything went quiet. Wild could swear that even the wind stopped blowing. “I'm not doing it on purpose! I--" sighed heavily. "I'm just not hungry, I can’t do anything about it. Please stop screaming, you're not helping me, Wild."

He ran his eyes over his face. There was no trace of a lie there. Only pure torment.

He licked his lips.

"It's not healthy." He stated, he didn’t know what else to say. 

"It's not healthy." Sky confirmed.

Wild made a sound of frustration. 

"Is there, Is there any way I can... Can I help you somehow?" He looked at him with pain in his eyes.

"I don't think so. It's not up to you," he smiled sadly.

His fingers tightened on the grass. He pulled out a few blades.

"There has to be some way-- I'll search the herb bag maybe I can find something--"

"Don't tell others"

He looked at him with wide eyes.

" _What?_ "

"Don't tell others, Wild"

Wild looked at him not understanding. "Why--"

"Just don't"

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this chapter less than the previous one, but it's rather obvious since I love to write about SS Zelda.
> 
> \-----  
> A word of explanation: Some people (like me) when extremaly stressed start to clench their teeth unwilingly. And like the whole digestive system is also clenching. Because of that you don't feel like eating. It's not like you feel sick or something, just not hungry. Your stomach may grumble all it wants (and it's pretty embarassing) but you can't really help it unless you stop stressing, which isn't that easy. What is important is to eat because even if you're not feeling hungry, trust me your body needs it.  
> \----  
> ALSOOO idk if it shows but writing Wild is extremly hard to me, it's probably due that he's my least favourite link but hey, this is what this fic is about.


	5. Warriors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this chapter is overly dramatic for no reason, but since it's a writing exercise I won't feel sorry for myself.

The door creaked slightly. But Warriors didn't jump, he knew who was coming. He knew this from the moment that person put their foot on the floor. Sky always tried to make as few sounds as possible. Was he good at it? The corners of his mouth twitched slightly. Not really.

However, there was something adorable about his sincere willingness to not bother anyone.

"Can I sit with you?" Sky's pale face emerged from the dimness.

"Naturally. C'mere" he pointed to the chair next to him. Sky hesitantly looked around the room, but finally entered and sat down in the designated area.

"Bad dreams or bad habits?" He asked without taking his eyes from the book.

Sky blinked in confusion. He looked at him doubtfully, but finally looked away. Out of the corner of his eye, Warriors noticed him rubbing his arm with his hand, clutching it tightly. _He's tense._

"None of these," he said softly after a moment.

Warriors smirked and turned the page.

"Ah, then I'm afraid we won't make a club for those who wake up early because of duty" he sighed theatrically and rested his head on his hand.

He put the book back down. As much as he liked to read, the conversation appealed to him so much more. Especially in the early hours. Especially with someone he liked.

Sky rested his head on crossed arms. _Give him a piece of chair, and he'll spread out all over the table!_ The candle light illuminated his face unevenly. Long shadows stretched under his eyes and nose.

"What kind of fool would get up so early on their own free will?" He grunted.

Warriors grinned even wider.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear it"

But the corners of Sky's eyes didn't show the crow's feet. And his eyes didn't shine with bright light. Instead, heavy eyelids covered them. Warriors wondered for a moment if the candlelight was playing with his senses or if Sky's eyes were actually red.

Warriors tried to keep the conversation going for a while, but Sky seemed to be sleeping rather than listening to him, so he let him be. Yesterday they had come a long way to reach Malon's house before dusk. They succeeded, but ended up exhausted. He wouldn't be surprised if the others didn't get out of bed today by late nine, and who knows, maybe ten o’clock. Now, it was four in the morning. Nothing fancy that he wanted to sleep, Warriors didn't hold it against him.

They continued to sit in silence. Warriors reading a book and Sky slowly falling asleep on the table.

Looking at the Chosen Hero, Warriors would have to be an idiot to not notice that something was off. The question was, ‘was he willing to take care of his problems?’. Not really. Warriors and heart-to-heart talk... Maybe weren't opposites, but definitely didn't go hand in hand. He was the motivational one, the one taking care of lifting morals, but comforting?

No, definitely not.

And it wasn't that Warriors didn't want to help him. Of course he wanted! It was just that in the back of his head he was still aware he was not alone. He had a team with him, people who were more qualified to certain things than he was. It would be foolish of him to stick his nose to things he didn't know about that could be resolved in a better way.

The voice of his asleep comrade broke him out of his thoughts.

"Warriors?"

"Hm?" He turned the page back. He distracted himself and read three paragraphs, but had no idea what they were actually about. "What is it?"

"Do you... do you feel low sometimes?"

His fingers tightened on the paper. He looked up from his book. The question caught him off guard.

"Do I feel low?" He considered. "Yeah, sometimes I do." He looked at Sky's figure. His eyes were open, but his gaze was disturbingly distant. Warriors frowned. "Do you?"

Sky's eyes widened. He jumped up from the table waving his arms.

"What? No! Of course not! I-- I mean sometimes I do but it's just fine, just like everyone else and--"

Warriors didn't interrupt him, he just stared at him, his face tensed. If choking on words wasn’t suspect, then Warriors didn't know what was.

"I'm--" the other hero looked at Warriors once more. His eyes ran over him quickly but inaccurately. He gritted his teeth. Warriors knew that look too well. He had seen it on the battlefield too often.

_First danger level assessment._

"I-- sometimes I feel low. But it's nothing worrying I promise. It's just..." he huddled in his chair as he spoke more quietly. "I don't know, I don't know how to explain it, I don't know how to describe it..."

He was definitely anxious. His words were tangled and he looked as if he didn't know what he was talking about anymore. What surprised him was who was sitting in front of him. Sure, Sky was sensitive, disliked conflicts or disagreements in general, but always presented impeccably. As a role model, something others might be looking up to. He was one of those who kept the team in check. He was unfit to be a leader, it’s true, but if he hadn't been there it would have been a lot harder. He was the emotional support to a large extent. Every team had to have someone like that. Warriors knew it.

He had to do something before the boy would lose himself completely

"It's okay to feel low sometimes, Sky." Warriors made a reassuring gesture with his hands, making sure he was showing their insides and wrists. "Feeling different things is normal, you know? No need to get upset 'bout it."

Sky's fingers tightened on the edge of the table, and Warriors saw his short fingernails dig into the white tablecloth.

"I know, it's just--" he bit his lower lip. Not the best decision. It was already badly damaged. "what," began again "what if I'm feeling it more often than _just_ sometimes?"

Warriors narrowed his eyes. Sky trusted him. He opened to him. He really trusted him... 

He couldn’t leave it like that now. He couldn’t leave Sky like that.

If he took this conversation on himself, he would be the one bringing it to end.

"What do you mean?"

He leaned towards him. He stretched out his arms. He wanted to pull Sky's white fingers away from the wood, he wanted them not to clench frantically on it, he wanted his fingernails not to damage Malon’s tablecloth… but he didn't. Sky's flinch was all he needed to stop. 

_Shit, he did it too fast._

Eyes shocked, lips trembling.

_No._

_He did it wrong._

_Sky didn't trust him at all._

_He was_ **_afraid_ ** _of him._

Warriors sometimes forgot how intimidating he could be.

"I--" he ran his eyes over him again, but more precisely. Since he was doing it for the second time, he wanted to find out in _which_ way he was a threat. _Shit, not good._ Warriors bit the side of his cheek. That meant he was right and Sky _saw_ him as a danger in the first place. Warriors was never good with delicate stuff. He knew it. _Of course he knew it_. "no-- I don't know, it's late, may--maybe I should-- maybe I should go to sleep..."

Warriors grabbed his hand before he could walk away. But at that very same moment he landed on the floor. Before he knew it, his wrist was twisted at a painful angle, Sky looming over him. Eyes shining and running over everything and nothing. Warriors groaned in pain. _How could someone so soft have so much strength?!_

He took a deep breath. But it felt empty and depleted of what he needed the most.

Sky looked from his hand to Warriors. He was thoroughly lost. He was shaking as the grip was getting loose. Warriors reached out with his other hand and wrapped it around the hero's cold one. Sky flinched even more than before. 

"I--I..."

Sky began to mumble something. Warriors couldn't understand what he was saying, but the words kept repeating. A prayer perhaps?

"Sky. _Sit_." He said in a strong voice, but the other hero didn’t seem to hear him.

Without thinking, he pulled him down. Not the best decision. His knees, his only support, buckled under Warriors’ pressure. The boy had no control over his body. He would have fallen to the floor like a rag doll if Warriors hadn’t caught him in time.

He pressed him tightly against himself and rested his head on his shoulder. He was shaking badly. His teeth wouldn't stop chattering. He was acting like he had frostbite symptoms. Frostbite symptoms... His eyes widened. _Wait._ He moved away.

"Sky, you hear me?"

Sky's head trembled, or maybe he nodded? Heck if he knew. His fingers tightened on his shoulders.

"Hey?!" all composure he previously had had evaporated. He didn't longer know what he was doing, shaking him like that.

"'m sorry, I'm sorry, I--"

He paused to look at him. "Sky stop apologizing, you did nothing wrong"

"I could do better..."

He narrowed his eyes, not understanding. Was he even conscious? He wasn't shaking anymore, but his eyesight was blurred. "What are you talking about? There's nothing you could do, you were having a--"

"I could do so much better, I know I could, I have to..." He tried to get up but Warriors didn't let him. He pressed him closer so he couldn't move.

"No, you don't have to," he whispered as he heard the footsteps upstairs, _Malon_. "You're fine as you are, Sky"

He didn't answer, and Warriors wasn't even sure if he actually heard anything he said.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warriors having a soft spot for Sky is a teeny tiny headcanon of mine so no, I'm not taking any criticism on that matter.


	6. Ghirahim

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been soooo long since the last update, but school is kicking me really hard now. I hope soon everything will stabilizate so i will have more time for writing and I'm also going to end this fic and therfore can start doing Don't tease future with your kindness. Stress resistance was supposed to be a side project that I would get over in like three weeks. Crazy I know. I hope at least I will end it at the beginning of december.
> 
> This chapter as you could see is from Ghirahim's perspective, and because of it, it has a few possible CW/TW such as:implied reference to suicide, coaxing to suicide, offensive speaking, low self-esteem, torture, violance, psychological abuse.These warnings applied only to this chapter and that's why i'm not putting them in tags. 
> 
> If any of you feels uncomfortable with these themes then you probably should bypass this chapter. Don't worry the next chapters are going to be similar to the previous ones.

When Ghirahim first met The Chosen Hero, he thought some stray child had accidentally entered the temple.

He could barely stand, his green tunic was ragged. He was shaking and bleeding. The eyes were filled with madness, uncertainty, and determination. Truly a bizarre combination. 

But only when he drew his sword, Ghirahim understood who he was dealing with. He felt that bright, hideous aura immediately. He grimaced outright in disgust.

Master Sword.

_The cursed blade of the Goddess._

He ran his eyes over the dirty child. The boy shifted from foot to foot. The gesture could be interpreted as dread, but Ghirahim wasn’t naive. He saw a nasty, inflamed wound near his left lower leg.

He looked around the sanctuary as if searching for something.

_Ah, so it had to be The Chosen One._ He ran his eyes once more over his wry posture. _In all his grace and glory._

To say that Ghirahim was slightly disappointed would be quite an understatement.

"Wh-where's Zelda?" He was clearly having difficulty pronouncing words. The child took a step forward. He swayed heavily. Ghirahim frowned. _He's going to faint if he doesn't trip over his own feet first._

He felt the room temperature begin to rise.

"Where you came from, Child..."

The boy didn't answer. He looked at him, eyes wide with fear, but didn't back away. Audacious.

"... don’t they teach you that you should introduce yourself first?" the child was silent. “You must have come from the sky, I cannot think of any other place with such low mannerism” he chuckled a little.

The child raised his sword higher, to chest height, stood in a combat position, but his arms trembled with the promise of a short-term surrender.

"I must admit," Ghirahim tilted his head to the left, his white hair falling to his shoulder. "I was expecting someone who at least looks like a hero."

He walked towards him with a nonchalant step. He stopped as the sharp tip of the sword was pointed at him. _As if he could do anything to him with this needle._

"You don't look like one," he continued, then vanished into a cloud of black crystals. "You don't act like one"

He appeared behind him. He dug his nails into his arms and leaned over his head.

"You don't even have an aura of one" he hissed.

He jumped back as the child swung at him.

"What was the Goddess thinking sending you here?" He appeared behind him again. The boy jumped when Ghirahim snapped his fingers near his ear.

"Did she grow bored with her toys?" He teleported again. This time he grabbed him by the sailcloth. He spun him hard. The boy lost his balance and crashed to the floor. The blade fell from his hand.

"It's not like it matters anyway. Your life is of no importance to me. But I'm feeling quite generous today. I won't take your life away, after all your chances to survive were lower than infinitesimal."

Surprisingly, the child didn’t lose consciousness. He grimaced subtly. Ghirahim must have underestimated him.

He crouched down. The hero tried to grab the Master Sword. For a moment he was looking at his strenuous efforts. The favoured few have always had this annoying determination within them.

The child's bruised fingers brushed the hilt of the weapon, but Ghirahim quickly put an end to his efforts and hopes. He picked it up and threw with inhuman strength into the dark corner of the temple.

The boy's eyes flashed with fear. Bright and sharp. Despite the unfocused eyes, he knew exactly what it meant to him.

But he kept trying anyway. He crawled on his stomach towards the sacred weapon. Ghirahim followed him slowly.

"I've always wondered why the chosen ones were so stubborn."

He spoke loudly enough for the boy not only to hear him but understand as well.

"I assume it's another curse of the Goddess. They probably praise you for it, wherever you come from. They say what a hero you are... People have always been and will be just as blind."

Ghirahim overtook him and blocked his way. The boy stopped too. He lifted his head off the stone floor, and yes. That determination was still here. It was the only bright spot on his battered face.

He bent down to his level. "Let me give you some advice, Sky Child. Give up. You're not a hero. Look at yourself. What are you trying to achieve?"

For a moment the boy considered his words. But eventually he passed by and continued crawling. As if he thought he was ( _ridiculous!_ ) somehow above him. Ghirahim gritted his teeth. He showed him _mercy_ , although he didn't have to. He did it on his own _free_ will. He _showed_ generosity. _He should be bowing his head to him, thanking him on his knees for the opportunity to continue his miserable life!_

The boy reached out to catch on the protruding plate and pull himself up. As he did so, Ghirahim stepped on his metacarpus with his heel. The room echoed with screams. 

The boy tried to pull his arm away, but his body refused to cooperate. He cried helplessly on the tiled temple of the goddess in which he believed so much.

The Master Sword flashed furiously, but did nothing besides it.

He left when the child lost consciousness. If he has even a little sense, he will never again stay in his way.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**━━━━━━━━▲━━━━━━━━**

  
  
  
  
  
  


When he met him the second time, Sky Child was in better shape. His tunic was intact, he even had a chain mail underneath... _Clever, truly clever._ His clothes were clean and looked somewhat decent. Now that dust and clotted blood didn't cover his face, he finally saw who he was dealing with.

But that made him even more disgusted.

His wounds had somehow healed since their latest clash. There was no trace of the cut on the lower leg or the crushed bones of the metacarpus. Ghirahim didn't know how he did it in such a short amount of time, but it’s not that he really cared. No harm done. Next time, he will leave traces that cannot be healed by any magic.

What was important right now was that he had a new obstacle in his way. An obstacle that was capable of fighting. Maybe he will actually have a decent fight. For some time now, he wanted to test himself. A little training will not hurt him. When he will resurrect his Master, he would have to be in his best shape to serve him with the respect he deserved.

"I'm glad you followed my ah... advice. Now, you actually look like _something_ like a hero. It's just a pity you didn't know that the first impression is the most important one," he said, walking under the threadbare murals of three goddesses on the background of triforce. "You can try to fool others, but in my memory you will remain forever written as a barely alive corpse. The puzzling thing is that you should know about it..."

He stopped and turned. Something occurred to him.

"You don't look like someone with many friends." He teleported behind the boy. "I can see it in your posture"

The hero jumped back and swung his sword at him. But he wasn't there anymore.

His eyes were wide open. He looked for him but couldn't find. Oh! He was even in a fighting mood. He just needed to motivate him a little and the little hero will start charging at him.

Something clicked in the demon's mind. Why is that boy here again? It didn't do him any good last time. He said something about a girl, he was looking for her... Zelda if he remembered correctly... he probably meant Spirit Maiden... But for some reason he couldn't believe it was just about the connection between Her Majesty and Spirit of the Hero. No... It _had_ to be more than that.

It was worth a try.

"Spirit Maiden is the only friend you've got, am I correct?" It was more of a statement than a question. The hero's head turned towards him. His eyes widened. He hit the right spot. "Of course I am. Oh my, this is a rather tragic story, don't you think? Two lost people who are toys in the hands of a Goddess who plays with them as she pleases, arranging dramatic stories and putting them to the trials. It's a pity that I can guess what your arc's ending will be," he paused dramatically and turned on his heel facing The Chosen One who was trying to stab him from behind. "You won't have a happy ending."

He stopped his sword with his fingers, but the boy managed to jump back and yank the weapon out. He staggered a few steps and lost his balance. He raised an eyebrow at that. Could he have had some injuries he hadn't noticed before?

"What in Goddess name are you talking about?!" he tried to get up.

"Oh, wouldn’t you like to know, _Sky Child_ " he cringed at the name. “That's a pretty common theme. A lone boy loses his lover. Gets banished from his hometown and commits suicide. Truly poetic."

The boy looked confused, but made no move to attack him. He stopped in place. He froze. 

He could use it. He could finish him off now. Get rid of him once and for all. The boy posed no threat to him. Not that he was something more than a grain of sand on his paved road. But… he didn't want to do that just yet. He wanted emotions. He wanted combat, gore on the floor, the smell of rust in the air. Tripe splashed on columns climbing towards the… ah, sky.

...He had to provoke him somehow.

"You know you're not going to save her," He walked slowly towards him.

It was hard to deny, the boy knew it too. In his present state, he wouldn’t even be suitable for cannon fodder. So Ghirahim continued on. Since he was a loner, he probably couldn't find himself anywhere. It was worth a try.

"I know you think so too. I ask again, why are you trying? You're not a hero. Look at yourself. What are you representing? You show up in front of me in some old rags, you fight like a mere knight. I waited here for a real hero, not for some pathetic imitation. You don’t belong here. You don’t belong to this place” he spread his arms. “But the real question is whether you ever belong anywhere? Looking at you I must say no. You look like someone who spends his whole life looking at himself in the mirror and wondering why he is still here."

"Why are you even waiting?" he whispered, "You should go to that sky island on which edge you stood so often."

It got the expected reaction in him. The boy got up and swung his sword. He aimed wrongly but managed to shake off the shock and stand on his feet. His face betrayed shock, but underneath its layer was visible hatred and anger.

“You would save yourself the hassle and disappointment. You know as much as do I that your efforts are irrelevant. We both know who will ultimately triumph. I have a question for you, boy. Do you really want to see those distraught faces of the inhabitants when you return with nothing and tell them you failed again? What are you going to tell them? That the Goddess didn't help you? That your opponents were too powerful? This is not a hero they wanted. The legends didn’t speak of such defender. They won't believe you. They'll think a blunder has been made. That you are a fraud. A mistake in Her Majesty’s plan. Assuming they don't think that already."

He looked at the boy's figure once more. He was trembling and his eyes showed the first stirring of doubt. But there was something else. Despite the many materials that covered him, his face was emaciated. His cheekbones looked like they were going to cut open the skin and leave two scars. 

He looked pathetic. People were not born equal. Some were just doomed to live below. No matter how many materials or crystals they would cover themselves in, they simply cannot change something that has been written for them for millennia.

“Tell me, hero. Do their crying faces excite you? Those furrowed brows. Grief on the faces of kind people who believed in you and entrusted you with finding Spirit Maiden? Maybe you just like to disappoint others, be the cause of their despair." He looked at the ugly bruise near his right eye. "Maybe you like it when they punish you for your mistakes"

He charged him in a simple and hackneyed manner. Ghirahim dodged him easily. He didn't even have to teleport.

"I still can't believe the Goddess chose someone like you to be her Chosen One."

"Just looking at you makes my blood boil." he dodged the blade aimed at his throat.

"You're truly miserable"

The fight didn’t last long. After several exchanges, the boy tripped over his own legs and fell heavily on the temple floor. This time he didn't get up. He couldn't even get to his elbows.

Ghirahim walked up to him, and rolled his body over to see if he was still conscious. Steel flashed. He jumped back in time, but the cold blade cut through his skin. A small drop of blood appeared in the daylight.

His blood boiled. He gritted his teeth. He kicked him in the side. He kicked him _again_ . _And again. And again and again and again andagainandaagainandagainand--_

**STOP**

Ghirahim stopped his leg halfway. He set it down on the tiled floor. He almost lost his temper!

Hair fell into his eye. He pushed it aside.

He _almost_ lost his temper. _Unacceptable!_ His hair was in outrageous condition and his clothes soaked with sweat. He smoothed the white fabric of the suit. He left the temple adjusting his hair.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**━━━━━━━━▲━━━━━━━━**

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Ghirahim didn’t expect to see this child again. Not after he almost bludgeoned him to death in a forgotten temple.

Someone had to help him. He couldn't even get up on his own.

Well. It’s not like it mattered. 

In fact, Ghirahim was grateful. Recently he had no luck finding the Spirit Maiden. Lacing into something that feels and makes sounds has always been more relaxing than smashing walls.

The boy screamed.

They even fought for a few minutes, but it was enough to teleport around him a couple of times. And the boy grew confused and pale as death. He was terrified of him. Of what he was capable.

When he touched his face, he began to hyperventilate, and soon after fell to the ground suffocating.

That was the end of his brave but pointless fight.

He ran a finger over the fracture site.

The child whined. Ghirahim pushed his hair back from his tearful face. The boy shuddered. He tried to pull away, but Ghirahim prevented him from doing so. He sobbed spasmodically, as if choking. _Ridiculous._

_"W-why-- why--"_

"Use your words, child. This is how higher forms of life communicate with each other," he said calmly. For some reason, he always felt overwhelming peace and clarity of mind after defeating the hero, even when he failed to find the Spirit Maiden. He found teasing Sky child kind of relaxing.

Ghirahim twisted his finger at an unnatural angle.

His whole body shook under his weight.

"Why are--"

Ghirahim stopped.

"I Just realized I never introduced myself before. Am the Demon Lord who presides over this land you look down upon, this world you call the surface. But you may call me Ghirahim. In truth, I very much prefer to be indulged with my full title: Lord Ghirahim. But I'm not fussy."

He looked up. How could he have forgotten it? He couldn't fathom it.

"It's _truly_ unprofessional of me to do it on our third meeting"

"You don't need to introduce yourself. It doesn't matter. But Her Majesty called you Link. Does this name belong to you, boy?"

He looked at him out of the corner of his eye. Ghirahim grasped his index finger in two places, threatening to bend them unnaturally. A fat tear ran down the child's cheek. Ghirahim added more pressure. He whimpered.

"Hh ye-yes! It-it-it is!"

Ghirahim loosened his grip, then broke the bone with a quick movement. The boy screamed and shook violently. He made more disgusting sounds.

He chuckled a little. "I have to admit, I don't know what the Goddess had in mind when she chose you to be a hero. ‘Link’ doesn't sound sonorous. They won't compose a chanson about you."

He clenched the boy's fingers into a fist in the most painful way possible, then began to slowly bend them back.

"It doesn't sound manfully either. Nobody will name a child after you."

"This name doesn’t echo with fright. Your enemies will not curse it."

"It sounds... quite miserable, pathetic even. Like a name to a worm"

He looked at the figure squirming beneath him. The child began to bang his head on the tiled floor.

"But I guess it suit you rather well"

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**━━━━━━━━▲━━━━━━━━**

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Ghirahim walked anxiously around the pulpit. He was still not here. _Why_ was he not here? Had he given up? _Foolish, stupid, ungrateful Sky Child._ He dug his nails into his forearms which he kept crossed behind his back. How could he do this to him? Leave him now when he happened to need him the most. Ghirahim paused before the organs. He looked at them in disgust. Once in royal golden colors, now wrapped in green ivy and covered with moss. They probably didn't even work anymore. The pipes were filled with rotten green, and at the end of one of them a purpure flower dared to sprout.

Purpure flower.

He gave it a hateful look as if it was the _worst_ , no, _the most hideous_ thing he had ever seen. He wanted to destroy it, pluck it off the petals. Have fun and aim the dagger at its stalk and shorten it by… ah… _head_. He loosened his grip and carefully plucked the flower as if he was grabbing a snowflake and didn’t want it to melt. Purpure...

He could give this to Sky Child. Yes, he could. He could shove it into lousy, mendacious mouth of his _corpse_ if he didn't show up in the next--

Oh... He crushed the flower by accident. He opened his palm and let the wretched plant fly away in the wind. _How unfortunate..._

Some time has passed since they last met. There was a possibility that the boy had given up to despair, and… He narrowed his eyes furiously. If he did, he was right from the beginning, he wasn't worth his attention.

Soft but audible footsteps echoed through the monstrous sanctuary. Ghirahim turned his head abruptly and leaned out of the ambo.

Yes that was _him_. The boy still looked like a child, but something about his demeanor made Ghirahim feel as if something had changed.

This time they said nothing. Ghirahim jumped off the dais, landed on bent knees, and immediately plunged into the fray. The hero hit back, he parried, bounced, bent to avoid quick cuts.

They started to fight.

And as much as Ghirahim didn’t want to admit, the hero was training. He covered himself and struck a lot less mechanically. His movements were smoother. Footwork was not like of a newborn baby learning to walk. Several times he found Ghirahim with his guard down. It was just as the blade aimed at his windpipe that he realized something. His fencing has certainly improved, but his style has changed as well. He was risky.

He exposed himself, attacked, left holes, parried on the left, exposed himself on the right, jumped back, then jumped on him. Mostly reckless moves.

Ghirahim at one point tried to teleport behind the hero. Almost at the same time the boy turned towards him, the blade threatening with a cold glow. His face was pale, but he didn't hesitate for a moment. He attacked relentlessly. But then he noticed a gap. When he made his swing his left side was unprotected. Ghirahim immediately appeared there and pierced him with his sword.

The hero choked and looked on without understanding. He looked at the wound and then at Ghirahim himself. He looked at him out of the corner of his eye and tried… he was trying to get away from his sword! Madman!

Ghirahim unintentionally drew his weapon from him, but at the same moment the Master Sword ran over his chest. Ghirahim hissed. The wound wasn't deep or serious, and yet he felt the pain separating. His pride was bleeding thicker and with darker blood than any wound had ever.

_He let himself be approached as if he was some mere--_

The sword slashed through the air in front of his face, but he teleported in time. He disappeared into a dark cloud of diamonds, then reappeared on the other side with the sound of breaking glass. His fingers tightened on the remains of the colorful stained glass of the tall window. Wait... He landed at the window? How was it-- He dodged an attack aimed at his neck. The Chosen One twisted his sword to deliver a finishing blow, but it pierced the rubble instead of his flesh.

Ghirahim was at the altar again. But wait. He teleported, why was he still seeing darkness with one eye? Something sticky ran down his cheek and dripped onto the white suit, staining it red.

A sharp pain pierced the left side of his face. He teleported again. And again, and again. He stayed nowhere for more than a few seconds. He finagled him, that _brat_ , that Goddess _mistake_ … he finagled him!

The corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily. He licked his lips and tasted his own blood on his tongue.

_Finally an equal fight._

He teleported again. They stood facing each other, Ghirahim at the entrance to the temple and The Chosen One at the altar landing. They were about twenty meters apart. But that changed when the boy noticed where his opponent was standing. He rushed towards him at once, at a speed impossible for someone who had been hit to the side just a few minutes ago. He used magic? No. Ghirahim didn’t even have to squint to see the huge red stain on his tunic. But how did he manage to keep moving? Could the people from the sky be more enduring than he initially thought?

With a loud cry, the hero struck him with his sword, deliberately doing so on his defective side. Ghirahim easily stopped him. The boy jumped back and swung him again, but Ghirahim kicked him in the stomach. The hero stumbled, but he didn't seem to be impressed. There wasn’t even a trace of a frown on his face. He stood up steadily and set himself into a combat position. The floor was stained red where he fell. Ghirahim narrowed his eyes, but didn't see any new aura appear around him. _It didn't stink of magic either…_

The hero was on the attack again, sword high in front of him, but then he fell halfway through as if hit by lightning. He immediately tried to get up, but fell even harder. Ghirahim watched several of the hero's attempts before deciding to approach him. The child, hearing his steps instantly turned towards him. He tried to get up again, but his legs refused to cooperate. In an act of desperation, he grabbed the Master Sword by the blade and tried to drive it into his thigh. Ghirahim effortlessly knocked it out of his hand, adding another cut to his palm. He didn't even flinch as he ran the blade over sensitive skin. _Something was wrong with him..._

Ghirahim had never seen anyone take so much damage and not frown a little. He looked at him closely and was surprised to find that he had no potions, fairies, or additional weapons with him. He crouched down and roughly gripped the hero's face. This time he didn't even struggle. He smiled as a convulsive giggle escaped his throat. He trembled with sheer terror while his piercing yellow eyes darted across the room.

Wait. Since when did the people from the sky have yellow eyes?

Ghirahim pulled back both of his eyelids in opposite directions. His whites were bloodshot but they weren’t red. They were purple. The eyes themselves seemed to be in constant motion. He put his fingers around his neck, and the hero gasped. He shuddered again. He held back a laugh. He waited a moment. His pulse was fast. Without a doubt.

Yellow eyes, purple veins, rapid pulse…

Something sticky dripped onto the floor. _Shit, this brat was trying to bleed out!_ Ghirahim smacked his face. But the child didn’t take his fingers out of the wound, he started to rummage in it more persistently.

"Stop it or I'll cut off both of your hands!" he hissed.

The hero obediently moved them away from the wound in his side. He shivered once more, tears streaming down his face. But not of pain, of _fear_. After a while he stopped shaking. His hands fell limp to the floor. He lost feeling in them.

Ghirahim noticed he still didn't let go of his face. At the beginning of the fight, it really felt like something had changed. The fight seemed exciting, and for a moment, for a short moment, he considered him a worthy opponent. What he saw in front of him right now was the most pathetic creature he had ever seen.

He let go of his face and it let fell limp onto the tiles with a dull clatter.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**━━━━━━━━▲━━━━━━━━**

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


During their fifth meeting… Ghirahim didn't even wait for him. He managed to get information on where the Spirit Maiden would appear and decided to show up early, capture her, and not stay waiting for the hero.

But to his surprise? disappointment? The Chosen One, apparently, also received the same information as he did. He wondered if he as well had to murder half the village to get them...

Ghirahim stretched gracefully and rose from the pedestal.

"So here you are again"

He tilted his head to the left. “What are you looking for? Your friend is not here."

The boy raised his sword to the height of his chest.

"Oh, you want to fight?" Ghirahim tilted his head. “What did you take this time? A decoction for endurance? No pain? Both? Or maybe you grabbed some fairies and turned them into soup to get temporary immortality?"

"I despise you"

He walked slowly towards him, taking each step dramatically.

“I was right, you aren’t worthy of the hero title, you are exactly as pathetic as I thought. I can't believe that for a moment I thought you were better than you actually are." He stopped a few steps ahead of him. “No wonder nobody likes you. Who would like to fall in with a coward like you--”

"Can you... Can you... Stop?" His voice was low and high-pitched. "I-- I know-- I know I'm not wor-worthy and-- I am no he-hero, and, and-- can you stop?"

"I-- I already know it all"

"Can we... Can we just fight?"

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started writing this chapter at the same time as the Sun's (yeah they weren't planned) and at the beginning it came rather smooth but then my inability to focus on one thing decided to show up and so I started writing hyrule's, time's and four's chapters. And after all this time it was kinda hard to get back to this fic but then on Friday I played The Witcher 3 and had to beat The Caretaker. And he was an absolute pain in ass. I was screaming, whining, crying at this fucker for almost an hour! I even gave Geralt a motivational speech or two. When I finally beat him I got so motivated that I looked at my google docs and was like "If I could win against this piece of shit then i'm definitely not gonna give up just because Ghirahim is hard to write".
> 
> So if any of you played The hearth of stone DLC you probably see some references to it in the fourth meeting.
> 
> Also did I mention that Ghirahim is hard to write? NO? Then you probably should know that GHIRAHIM IS HARD TO WRITE. Especially since he lacks empathy and I'm used to writing characters that dearly care about someone.
> 
> And he uses weird constructions, and a lot of clever words and I… normally don’t do it?
> 
> Also it was my first time ever attempting to write not only a perspective of a villain but also a fight scene. I must admit I'm quite proud of myself >.>
> 
> And one more thing if you think I should add some CW/TW at the beging just let me know!
> 
> Edit1: I reread it again and found I somehow removed one piece. It's not an important fragment but it implies some rather interesting things. Now it's fixed. If you read it before the edit, the paragraphs I'm talking about are placed in the second meeting.


	7. Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> God has favourites and this is people who can actually write fluff.

None of the heroes were open about their adventures. Time didn't blame them. He understood the need of keeping certain things to himself better than anyone else. Therefore he never pressured them. He believed that if any of the heroes wanted to share some information, they should do it on their own free will. Putting pressure... he put the ocarina from his mouth… it never ended well.

But the longer they traveled together, the more open they became. They gradually began to grow familiar and tell each other about the circumstances under which they were forced to go on an expedition (or in some cases expeditions), with whom they fought, or what difficulties they had to overcome. When he heard at how young age some were sent out, his heart sank and his veins filled with rage. There was so much life ahead of them. So much life to be stigmatized by things they didn't understand back then. And for what purpose? In skirmishes of deities? The whims of idols?

So he was glad when Sky said he was sixteen when he set out to find his friend.

_"It's a funny thing you see. Be-- Because-- I was the only one sent off when I was almost seventeen. Se-seventeen! Seventeen is quite a reasonable age, don't you think? You're almost an adult, you know what you're getting into," he choked on his own tears and took one hand away from Time's shoulder to muffle himself. "It's reasonable, isn't it?"_

According to his stories, he had a good childhood. Even a best friend, Zelda. On some warm evenings, when the sun was leaning towards the horizon and the sky was turning livid pink, he would talk about her by the fire. Its bright flame illuminated his face and made his eyes sparkle with a wondrous glow, giving the impression that you were talking to a child in an adult's body. Sometimes he talked about other things. About the knight's academy, about adventures they had together with Zelda before the expedition. He used to affectionately call her his ray of sunshine. Time found it adorable, but was also glad that he had someone to return to after completing the quest. 

_"I don't belong, Time. I never do. I'm always that black sheep nobody wants. Gaepora didn't want me. You don't want me either. Zelda... I don't know what Zelda sees in me, and I swear to Goddess she deserves someone better, someone much more better. Someone who wouldn't be late to save her, someone who wouldn't curse-- "_

He only went on one quest.

Time stopped playing for a while. A fairy with a purple glow flew past his face. He narrowed his eye subtly. Wild mentioned there was a fairy fountain nearby, but he didn't expect them to be able to sense him from this distance. He extended his hand slowly. The little creature hovered around his fingers for a moment, but finally convinced itself and sat down. After a while, Time felt a pleasant tingling, which gradually began to spread to the rest of his body. He smiled slightly as he saw the thin cuts disappear from the surface of his fingers and getting replaced by new, healthy scarfskin.

  
  
  


Of course, Time didn't take anything away from him. He was sure the goddess had found him a worthy opponent. She always knew how to choose their enemies so that they wouldn’t grow bored...

_"You know I fought Demise, right?" he spoke softly, his face pressed against Time's shoulder. "Legend is right, I had it easy."_

_"I only fought one opponent. A-- and he? Three? Four? And he's doing just fine! Wild faced two times something that once overwhelmed him. Even you can't deny it... "_

_"Objectively looking I had it easy. So-- so why?" he choked, bitter tears streaming down his cheeks._

_"Why am I cracking?"_

Sky received training before embarking on his journey. Of course, nothing could replace experience gained from the actual battlefield. Brutal but honest truth, but prior training… Time was sure most heroes would have given a lot to get a training like him before they were thrown into the vortex of challenges. Although exercise would never replace an innate talent. It’d take many years or even decades to master a fight at his level. Sky had a gift, whether he wanted it or not, and was an exquisite swordsman. He was quick, agile, his movements were smooth and his footwork correct. In their mini-competition, he even won the first place by beating Twilight, which was a challenge in itself. Someone like that must have attracted attention.

_"Do you-- do you hate me, Time? You-- you sure do... After all it's my fault," he laughed hysterically._

_"I… I don’t even know how to apologize…" he hunched over and put his arms around his head. "I don’t think anything I’d say would change your judgment of me now."_

_"It's pointless, right?"_

Sky had a home. A place to go back to. A safe haven. His stories showed that he had people there who would help him without hesitation, and stood behind him when needed. It took years for Time to realize that he didn’t have to carry everything on his shoulders. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't help when a little smile crept over his lips. He would like everyone else to realize that suffering alone wasn’t the only solution. And even more he would like them to understand that it wasn’t healthy.

So yeah. Time was glad there was a place Sky could call home, that he didn't have to go through the same as he.

_"Are you... are you going to hit me?" he trembled, his wide eyes reflecting the pale moonlight. "You-- you can do it if it makes you feel better." he tried to smile, but it came out crooked and unnatural._

_"I-- it-- it’s alright!" his body told a different story. “I deserve it. I know you think so too."_

_But no blow came._

_"...Do you pity me?"_

Many heroes tried to hide the influence that expeditions had on them. Time was no one to judge them. Everyone had their own coping methods. They weren't always good, but old habits were hard to get rid of. Change required energy and patience. He knew it the best. He also knew how tempting it was to always run away, hide and pretend that everything was fine.

Sky seemed initially okay. Sure, he was a little withdrawn and he far too often got lost in thoughts, but it was a rather harmless behavior. He had no problem with talking about emotions, with expressing himself. He didn't get angry or lose faith in people, which in itself... seemed like a good start.

_"Some-- sometimes I think Groose should leave me alone in that temple. That he should let me bleed out." he whispered._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... kind of like this chapter? I definitely spend too much time on it for my liking but it payed off :>
> 
> At the beginning it was so overly dramatic and edgy that I was thinking about abandoning it but after like sixth edit it started to look somehow decent. Also I'm currently working on Four's chapter and let me tell you, this bad boy's gonna be long. It'll probably get split in two so my motivation won't run away from me.


	8. Wind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally reach Skyloft.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly the last two weeks before winter break are so freaking wild.

When Sky talked about the place he came from, Wind for some twisted reason always imagined that it was in the clouds, and all roads and houses were made of slightly damp but soft powder. Usually when he thought about it, he didn't deliberate how absurd it sounded. He just accepted it. Maybe he simply wanted to believe him, or maybe the vision of a cloud town seemed less strange than the fact he had been traveling with people of the same name between worlds for the past several months. Well, Wind didn't pay too much attention to those thoughts. On the other hand, now, when all nine follow the trodden path and in front of them is a view of the knight academy and as huge as serious statue of Hylia, he is forced to measure his expectations with reality.

And to his surprise, he isn’t disappointed. Well yeah, the cottages whose roof is made of cotton candy is definitely on his to-see list, but he still likes it here. The construction of the houses and specific flora give a sense of warmth and security, and despite the fact that it is located in the sky - stability. In a way, Skyloft reminds him of home.

No matter which way he looks, he can see blue. No matter where he stands, he can feel the wind whipping his hair. The only thing missing is the salty smell of the sea...

He sighs slightly and, staring at the sky, makes a spin, and then another. As he stares at the sky, he can almost imagine the salty breeze caressing his face. When he does this, he collides with something and at the same moment feels strong hands on his shoulders. Twilight appears in his vision and smiles as if he's seeing something damn funny. He tells him to go on and that he can play afterwards when they reach knight academy.

Of course, at the same moment Wind wrinkles his little nose at him and tells him in a not-so-very-gentle-way that he is _not_ playing around at all and if someone is, then it's definitely Twilight. The older hero's smile deepens, but Wind doesn’t hear what he’s saying, because he is already running to the very beginning of their small but sprawling bunch. He passes Time and Four, with the former one following him with his good eye for a moment. Wind stops literally a moment before colliding with Legend's back.

The perpetually grumpy hero turns, glaring at him from under frowning eyebrows. Wind would have wagered twelve red rupees that in a few years the veteran's eyes would completely blend in with his eyebrows.

Legend adjustes the waist of the bag slung over his shoulder and grunts under his breath. Wind doesn’t pay much attention to this and jumps to the other side to Sky.

Now the view is even better. But then he sees something. Some shape floating in the distance, a human figure. Before he gets a closer look at it, it disappears. Something flies by his right. Wind turns his head at a rapid pace, but all he sees are sand-colored feathers slowly falling to the ground. Could it be those birds that Sky talked about?

“So you want to say it’s perfectly fine by you?”

“I don't know what you mean, Legend”

The veteran rolls his eyes.

“Yeah whatever…”

Wind doesn’t know what they are talking about. He tries to look at Legend and even for a moment catches him nervously looking around. Apparently he isn't doing it very discreetly because after a while Legend stares right at him with a raised eyebrow. Wind sticks out his tongue and immediately hides under Sky's arm.

“Hey Sky are we finally going to meet your girlfriend?”

He hears a soft whine that sounds like ‘not again…’, but ignores it.

Sky doesn't push him away, but smiles heartily, a faint pink light illuminating his pale cheeks. He tucks a strand of hair behind his ear. “Well yeah, I suppose you will. I'm sure you will like each other. She's the best person I know and…” he narrows his eyes and it’s clear he wants to add something, but says nothing more.

Something flies on his left once more, but again all Wind sees is a green blur. He can ask Sky about it, but where would the fun be then?

“Will you show us around the academy? I've never been to one... Is it true you have a huge library there? And a training room? Oh! Oh! I heard there is food in the academies that you don't have to pay for. Is it true? Or is it just a marketing trick?”

Sky laughs slightly and shakes his head.

“As far as I know, we don't have a library at the academy. Zelda has a huge bookcase in her room, but she doesn't like having her stuff rummaged. Not that I can blame her. Regarding the training room... Yes, we have one. To tell the truth, I don't think it's something interesting, but if you really want to... I think no one will mind if I take you there…”

“And food? What about food?” he asks, and his eyes shine brightly.

“Oh? Wild is not enough for you anymore?” he smiles slyly. As if on command, Wild raises his head up and looks at their direction.

“Free food is free food,” he states.

Sky smiles a little and shrugs. “If this interests you so much, then yes we have a cafeteria, but I'll tell you a secret,” he leans over and whispers. “Wild's kitchen is hundred times better.”

Wind smiles at that. ”Well that's--” he bangs his head against something that he later recognizes as Sky's shoulder. “--obvious”

He leans out to see why he has stopped. Had they already arrived?

“Hey Link”

In front of him, maybe three meters away, stands a human mountain. He’s huge, and his small head looks comical against the backdrop of his huge body. But what draws Wind attention is that he wears the most ridiculous hairstyle he has ever seen. His face isn’t mean but it doesn't look friendly either. Wind's eyes narrow thoughtfully.

_Friend or foe?_

Something flies to his right and this time Wind sees what it is. It’s a man and a woman. He is surprised to see that somewhere in the distance another person has also stopped on the ground. The first thing he wants to do is ask Sky who these people are and why they are watching them, but then he feels Sky's hand trembling in his grip.

“Sky...?” Wind asks quietly, and maybe too quietly because he pays no attention to him. His eyes are fixed on the broad-shouldered man in front of him.

Wind tries to remember if Sky has ever mentioned him, but the harder he thinks, the more he realizes he _hasn't_.

_Friend or foe?_

He looks once more at the quivering form of Sky. He alternately opens and closes his mouth like a fish bereave of water. He meets someone's gaze. It's Legend. He sees it too, and likewise doesn't know what to do. He holds his hand near his belt as if to draw a sword, but doesn’t do it. He seems rather concerned about Sky's reaction than anything else.

Wind hears footsteps, someone is getting closer. _It's that giant._ Wind shakes Sky's shoulder, but he doesn't respond. _Why is he not responding?!_

He looks at him again and then he sees it. The fear in his eyes.

Without much thinking Wind leaps forward and aims the blade towards the giant, shielding the older hero with his small body.

“Who are you and what do you want from Sky?!” he screams in a squeaky voice and if not for the circumstances he would be ashamed of how much it falters between sounding like a human and a screeching seagull.

The giant frowns at him and tilts his head to the side. He’s smiling, but it’s not a mocking smile. “I don't know where you got that kid, Link, but he's pretty funny.”

Now Wind is the one who doesn't understand. He's not the enemy? He definitely looks like one. Wind doesn't understand. What is this really about? He doesn’t attack him, doesn't draw his weapon. In fact, it looks like he doesn't even have one. Wind frowns. His thoughts run at incomparably fast speed compared to their normal motion, but he catches one thing among them. _He was offended._

“You're a kid yourself, you bastard!” he screams.

“No, you,” Wind feels all the blood boiling inside him and his face warming up.

He is about to jump at him, but someone puts a hand on his shoulder, and the sight of the strange man gives way to white cloth with a blue bird painted on it. _Sky..._

“H-hey Groose…”

_Groose?_ He blinks in surprise.

_Like… like goose?_

“Oi where's your enthusiasm? You disappeared for almost a year and you won't even hug your best friend?”

“I--”

Sky doesn't move, but that doesn't stop Groose _(he surely heard that right?)_ , he immediately wraps his arms around him. Sky doesn't choke, but is definitely not comfortable with it. He returns the hug stiffly and uncertainly. After a while he lets go, and Sky steps back, though it looks more like staggering than anything else.

“Zelda missed you, man. And I know you guys have some weird kind of bond or something,” the giant is waving his arms from side to side as if it would explain anything. “But you've been out for a long time and you definitely owe her…”

Wind raises his head. “Explanation?”

The giant smiles and pats his head at which Wind gives him a glowering look. “Yeah, that! So who are your companions? Ever since you arrived, the knights have been talking about you bringing someone with you.”

He hears Legend mumbling something.

“Well--”

“Won't you introduce me to them?” the giant looks genuinely sorry. Sky, on the other hand, looks like he wants to be anywhere else at the moment. He turns and swallows.

“E-everyone this is G-Groose he--”

“He's my best buddy!” the giant finishes cheerfully for him and puts one arm around him, as Warriors do so often.

Except Sky seems to sway on his feet as if he is about to collapse.

Then a thought pops into Wind's head. Sky looked exactly the same at the beginning of their journey. _Yeah… he looked the same,_ he repeats again and that’s when he realizes what it means. His eyes widen. _Oh Hylia, he looked the same!_ He looks at the giant's face once more and hesitates for a moment whether he's leaping to conclusions, but no. How could he? Dread on his friend's face is all he needs.

“Best buddies, huh…” Legend murmurs cynically under his breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You don't even know how much it hurts me to write Groose like that T-T
> 
> Also sorry for any mistakes, for some reason this chapter was really hard to translate.


	9. Four (part I)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you come home by bus from meeting your friends with this one person who you don't know all that much and both of you try to not be awkward - the fic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said Four's chapter is divided in two. If things will go as planned then at the end of the following week the second part will show up.

The first thing Four came to realize was a headache. Dull and unfocused, surrounding his head tightly like a warm scarf in winter. The world swirled in front of his eyes, one moment he saw a blurry glade and in the next, four versions of it, each glaring with a sudden sharpness. The voices in his head alternately screamed, called out again and again to open his eyes wider, stand up, split, or on the contrary. His fingers tightened on the grass, he tried to stand up but at the same moment he felt his stomach rising to his throat and his head beginning to spin. He threw up.

Despite the feeling of jelly bones he managed to stay on his elbows and not get his face stuck in vomit.

When he finished, he stepped aside breathing heavily and rolled over on his back. He looked up but to his surprise there was no open sky. Something was preventing the sun from reaching the ground. Something dark and huge.

'Canopy of trees...'

That’s true, when he looked, he noticed blurry brown spots that merged with the vault. Canopy of trees... Extensive and wild, tangled together formed an impassable barrier.

It was the first time he had seen something so monstrous in his life. So they weren't in his Hyrule… But wait a minute! Where were the others?

He looked around. Since uh, he returned the contents of his stomach, he felt better. He no longer felt nauseous, and the feeling that he was about to split was gone. His eyesight was clearer too, or at least not as blurred as before. But none of his companions were anywhere. He frowned. Were they separated? It wouldn't be the first time but... his throat tightened slightly. He preferred not to wander alone in a dark forest he didn’t know.

'We need to look around, there is a possibility that someone--'

"Four?! Is that you? Hey?!"

Four turned around. Sky ran to him. He was covered in dirt, but didn't seem to be injured. He stopped at his side panting

“Something’s wrong? Are you hurt?" he leaned over him and Four realized he was still lying on the grass.

'We need to get up, c'mon guys!'

’We need information’

'Ohhh not _that_ again...'

'We won't get any if we stay on the ground'

"Four?"

'...Fair enough’

He carefully got up from the ground and noticed Sky withdraw his hand behind him. Was he trying to help him get up?

‘Maybe, maybe not, why do you care?’

‘It’s… nice of him I suppose?’

"I-- I take it as a no then," Sky smiled awkwardly and looked away. “Did you see someone else? I was thrown a bit further, but I didn’t meet anyone... Maybe you were more lucky?"

Four brushed damp earth off his clothes.

“I’m afraid not. You're the first person I saw since we teleported,” he said slowly.

Sky's eyes hazed a little. His whole face seemed to fall downward. "Oh... okay," he murmured.

'He’s worrying about them! We need to cheer him up!’

'Cheer him up all you want but for the love of Goddess, please don’t hug-- ah damn it Red!'

Sky jumped in surprise. He looked down at Four who was embracing his waist tightly.

"Four you're--" he relaxed a little and returned the hug. “We’ll find them, you’ll see it’s going to be okay. They're probably close.” Four nestle up to him even more.

'How did it turn out like this...?'

'Hell if I know'

'Red, stop acting like a sissy!'

Four hesitantly moved away from the other hero. His face was burning. He looked away.

“We need to find them,” he stated and cleared his throat. "Is this your Hyrule perhaps?"

Sky denied it. "I have never seen such a huge forest before"

Four looked up again. Now he could see everything more clearly and even notice branches sticking out from between the leaves or a few holes in their structure. They were the only reason he saw anything in this all consuming darkness.

'I doubt it’s even Hyrule’

"These trees look strange..."

Sky appeared in his line of sight. "What do you mean?"

'I almost forgot that he’s from Sky... what does he call it again?’

'Skyloft'

'Yeah, right, Skyloft'

"Normal trees aren't that tall, Sky," he shook his head in confusion. “As far as I know anyway. I don’t like it here, we should go find the others"

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Something was wrong. Four knew it as well as he knew that Sky must at least conjecture. Portals were malicious by nature. They opened in the trees, in the middle of the lake, and sometimes, well, _separated them_. Except that they usually landed at relatively short distances. The highest Vio noted was about two kilometers. By now, Four and Sky had walked for what felt like six hours. They covered far more than these two kilometers, but still found no one. Of course, Four couldn’t rule out that the portal was more capricious this time, but there was a subtle difference between capriciousness and zealous malice. After this time they should come across someone, at least one person...

But there was no one.

Only trees, trees and even more trees! But what bothered him the most was not nature, but the constant lack of sounds. The whole forest, wilderness or whatever you call it was so huge but at the same time so empty. As if there were no animals here. It wasn’t right. _It didn’t feel right._ Even the wind didn't blow here! Four was no longer sure whether it was because of the trees or because of the strangeness of the space itself, even it did not want to venture here.

After all, animals don't run away from the forest for no reason.

'Something must have happened here...'

'It's impossible for only nocturnal animals to live here, it's just as dark here all the time!'

'...Sky doesn’t seem disturbed'

Four stopped. Actually... Sky seemed positive about their position right from the start. Well positive might be too much to say but he didn't seem overly worried. He looked around at the trees with serene eyes but it seemed more like a habit than the effect of nervousness.

But he’s from the sky after all…

Which also meant he wouldn’t be much of a help either.

Sky stopped too. Apparently, he must have noticed that he wasn’t longer by his side. He looked at him questioningly.

Four blinked and approached him, head bowed.

"You think we will find the others, Sky?"

Sky looked at him with a small smile. Naturally he replied that, of course, they would find them before he would turn around, and the standard ‘you shouldn't worry about that’. Yeah. It was Sky. What kind of answer was he expecting? Probably if his world was attacked by his evil shadow with an inferiority complex he would also say with an equally kind smile on his face that everything would be just fine.

He looked again at the other hero. But… somehow he didn't find the courage to tell him how hopeless their situation was.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


It was evening or at least everyone agreed to call it an evening. It was still dark. Vio said that after a while they should get used to it and it wouldn’t matter what time of the day it was. But Four didn't want to get used to it. He didn’t want to be in an unknown place, in an unknown time and with--

with a person he didn’t even know...

'But we know Sky, don’t we?'

Nobody answered.

'Guys...?’

'...What’s exactly your definition of someone you know?’

'Well--'

'Vio?'

'I always have to be the bad one? Really? Honestly, at this point I wouldn't be surprised if Red would never want to see me again for the rest of his life...'

'That’s not gonna happen he-he! I love you too much for that… although it would be nice if you stopped being mean--'

'Mean...? Whatever, that's not what this is about. Red, what can you tell me about Sky?'

Four looked at the other hero. He was now searching his bag for something to light a fire. His eyes were narrowed and his lips pressed into a thin line. He had already searched the bag a third time. The second time, Four was still able to believe that he might not have noticed the matches, but at the third he thought it was just pure desperation clothed in false hope.

'His hair is fluffy, he’s nice, he always helps everyone’

Sky bit his lower lip when he once again found nothing.

'He doesn’t get mad when I hash something, he’s a great listener, and--’

'And we know nothing about him'

'But I just--'

'This is exactly what I’ve been talking about. I don’t know yet if he does it intentionally or not but we still know almost nothing about him’

'Well that's true, he usually doesn't say much about himself'

'He rarely mentions home and when he do he's only talking about his girl'

'We don't know what his weaknesses are'

'We don't know what his favorite food is'

'We don't know what his favorite color is'

Red said nothing more but Four felt a tingling throbbing just below his skull. He didn't want to believe it but at the same time he was aware that it was true. Sky wasn't close to him and maybe that's why he felt so uncomfortable sitting right next to him in a forgotten forest with no one else around. All he could do was hope they would find the others soon, or a way out of this forest. The longer he looked at the surrounding trees, the more it seemed that they too were looking at him with despondent eyes.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The second day was not so much different from the previous one. Four walked with Sky through the forest and… they just walked. The sun was still invisible, and they didn’t knew where they were going or from where. Sky must have noticed his gloomy mood because from the morning (or so Four assumed, for the sake of his sanity, he decided that it was better to call it a morning) he tried to cheer him up. He said that they would surely find the others, that soon everything would be only a dim recollection. He tried to pretend that they weren't lost but on some adventure. He would tell him a joke from time to time. Four politely laughed every time, though he didn't find them funny, and not because Sky was a bad comedian (although he definitely wasn't the best one), it’s just that Four wasn't really listening to him most of the time.

He was busy with a razzmatazz in his head. And the thought that tormented him the most was so simple in pronunciation but at the same time it didn’t want to pass through his throat. Like a fishbone it got stuck in the walls of his esophagus and made him choke with emotions. He wished Sky wasn’t here.

And the very thought made him feel terrible. He didn't want to think that way but he couldn't help but wonder what if. And for his misfortune, Four had a good imagination. He could almost see himself splitting and then the four of them looking for a way out of the forest. But he's stuck here with Sky. He tried to convince himself that it could be worse but somehow his good imagination didn’t want to show him any worse scenario.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The third day started just like two before. Four woke up, it took him a while to adjust to the fact that the overwhelming darkness was not a defect in his eyesight, but a reality. He got up and tried to wake Sky up. It wasn't as hard as Warriors sometimes complained, the problem was rather his dillydallying. It was almost as if the hero had considered five times before he got up whether he should go back to sleep.

For some reason it irritated Four.

'As if he didn’t understand the seriousness of the situation! As if he didn't care that... that...'

He walked away from the hero. It might be just his imagination but systematically as they walked it became colder.

...But Sky didn't seem to notice.

But again Sky--

'Sky doesn't notice a lot of things'

'The forest doesn’t bothers him’

'He doesn't pay attention to animals'

'He doesn't give a shit that if we are going on like this, we will die'

'You're overreacting'

Oh was he now? Because he was the only one who wanted to get out of it alive? Because he saw what a hopeless situation they were in? BECAUSE--

'You're overreacting...'

Because he took it seriously? Because he was the only one actually thinking here?!

He kicked the tree trunk with all his strength. But to his surprise, it didn't hurt half as much as he thought it would. In fact, he barely felt it. He looked at the place he had hit. It was covered with some mold. No wait, it was something else. Four slowly approached it, leaned cautiously, and touched it with his finger. He jumped back as if he was burned, but it didn't hurt. He walked over again and realized what it actually was. A moss.

Four was unfamiliar with herbalism, but was almost sure that it looked a little different than in his Hyrule. Nevertheless, it was a moss. Moss. Moss. Moss… He crouched down and cupped his chin between his fingers. But what did that actually mean?

'It's better not to eat it, we'll probably end up sick'

'Isn’t moss suitable for compress? Hyrule once said something about greens that are applied to bruises to reduce its spreading...'

'Are you sure?'

'Well--'

'...it won't hurt to find out?'

Something didn’t match but Four had spent his entire life in the city, and he never suspected that one day he would end up in a place like this without someone who could distinguish such things.

Four unfastened the pocket-knife from his belt and began to cut the growth off the tree. The cut slabs were placed on a small pile. Four didn’t believe that there was a forest without animals, and after visiting other heroes’ Hyrules he began to doubt that there were forests without monsters.

'Maybe it was monsters who scared animals away?'

'Vio why do your theories always have to be so... uninvited, brilliant and make me want to punch you in the face?'

Four dropped the knife. Something occurred to him. The moss-- it-- 

Four got up from his knees and ran, stumbling to Sky. He took him by his tailcoats and started shaking him like crazy.

“Sky! Sky! These trees have moss, they have moss! You understand?" He brought their faces so close that Sky's accelerated breath was warming his frosty nose. "There is moss, here over there in that tree!" He pointed to a tree that looked exactly like any other tree that they had passed by in the last three days. Four looked at Sky again, but the other hero looked only confused.

"It’s a good thing?"

’What a dumb question!’

"Of course it is, silly!" he felt a broad smile creep onto his lips. "There is moss on the tree and the moss points a direction!"

Sky seemed to lighten up at this. He rose from the supine position.

“Oh that’s… that's great news Four! What direction does it point?"

'Ah he really comes from the sky... I’ve never really thought about whether there were trees in Skyloft'

Four smiled again, albeit not so broadly, but definitely proudly.

"It points north"

"That's... good?"

"Of course it's good, we will finally be able to find the-- Oh..." Four's enthusiasm vanished. Has been replaced by something unpleasant. As if the blood in his body had turned to lead.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Sky stayed close to him for the rest of the day but Four wasn’t grateful to him for that. The longer they were together, the more he seemed to understand nothing. Sky was warm, but his hands were icy. Whenever a part of him wanted to nestle into his sailcloth, those icy hands would appear. They wouldn’t leave him alone. Sometimes it seemed to him that Sky was built on contradictions, as if his design had been made in a hurry, with the foundations being made on a shaky ground.

Sky talked a lot. Much more than at the camp.

‘Maybe he pities us’

But despite this, Four felt as if he still didn’t know about him more than three? four? days earlier.

Sky always seemed to be right next to him, but always at arm's length.

But, actually, hadn't he acted like this before when they were all together?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


In the evening, they set up a small camp that consisted mainly of their hand luggage. It wasn't much, but they couldn't help it, most things were at Wild’s or at Legend's. At the moment they were having a conversation. It was forced and overly sweet, like the cinnamon cookies from the royal kitchen, but the contents were not filled with cinnamon but mustard seeds.

"We will definitely find them, you’ll see!" Sky tried to cheer him up and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, I think we'll find a way out soon"

"Definitely!"

Four didn’t know who was trying to convince whom more. Sky him or he himself.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Afternoon, evening or maybe morning? Irrelevant. It was dark as before, cold as before, boring as before. They walked...

'...five hours plus or minus half an hour'

They walked five hours plus or minus half an hour. Four wasn't sure if they were going in the right direction at all. They might as well go deeper into the forest and not realize it. They might as well be walking in circles.

‘Well one thing is for sure, we can't turn back now’

'Yeah...’

But is it really? Four tossed an apple and catched it with the other hand. He found it at the bottom of his bag, and since he was bored, he decided to spend some time playing. So far, he has caught the apple sixteen times and failed three times.

'Yeah, really'

'If we turned back now, we would surely die'

'Please, don’t say things like that...'

He put the apple in his bag. He glanced at Sky, who was resting against a tree. He wasn't sure if he had simply ignored it before, but Sky was losing stamina relatively quickly. He needed a break to rest every few hours. Naturally, it irritated him, but he knew better than to tell him that because the atmosphere would become even more tense.

Four pulled the hood over his head and tucked his hands between his armpits. One of the reasons he preferred not to make stops was because he felt warmer when he was walking. Now all he could do was walk in circles. Did he want to walk in circles? No.

He glanced enviously at Sky lounging against the tree trunk.

'As if he was on vacation!'

'He still doesn't realize the seriousness of the situation, right?'

'I-I-I wish it wouldn’t be so cold h-here’

"We should go," he finally said.

Sky looked up at him and smiled gently. "Yeah, we probably should"

Sky gathered his things and they walked on.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Sky had been looking at him for some time now. He did it when he thought Four wasn’t looking and well he wasn’t too discrete about it. Of course his gawking irritated him but not enough to get carried away.

"Are you cold?" he asked finally.

’What a dumb question!’

"No"

'...'

They walked in silence for a while.

"You know we're gonna find them, right?"

Four did not reply. Something caught his attention. Some strange rustle. Something seemed to move among the thicket of leaves. But where?

“This… This may take a while but I promise you, we'll find them eventually. I mean it may look like we’re in a mix but… but it doesn’t mean it’ll be like that forever…”

Sky continued speaking, but Four was no longer listening to him. It was a rustle. _Rustle._

'Maybe it's the others?'

'Don't be stupid, if it was them, they would show up right away. Why would they hide hn?'

'...So monsters?'

’Most likely’

If they were monsters, what were they? Did he know them? Did he know how to overcome them? Would he be able to do this? What if they would be as tall as trees growing all around? 

'They will not be'

'How do you know?! Anyway it doesn’t matter! We just have to show them where their fucking place is, and that's all!'

'And how are you going to show them where their place is if you can't even see the end of your nose?'

Well it was a bit of an exaggeration. Four definitely saw the tip of his nose. He could definitely see his hands and feet as well. And what's more - the immediate surroundings. He could only hope that his opponent's eyesight was as weak in the dark as his and that he was not using a long-range weapon.

If not--

He preferred not to think what that would mean for him.

“I'll tell you more. The fact that our situation looks like this means it can only get better! In the worst of situations, you need to think positively. I know it's hard and I don't expect it from you but when you replace "it can only get worse" with "it can only get better" it will be easier for you right away!"

And that rustle again. But louder and as if doubled. It couldn't be the wind, not to mention that the wind wasn't blowing at all between the trees in the first place. There was something with them. He just needs to locate the direction it's coming from and--

"Just because you fail at something at the beginning of the day doesn't mean that the rest of the day will be--"

"Will you shut up?"

Sky looked at him with his mouth open. He blinked and tightened his lips into a thin line.

Four listened for a moment but he heard no rustle as much as he no longer heard Sky’s chattering.

'Why did he stop talking?’

Four looked at his face. He looked… guilty.

But why…

_Oh_

'Yeah, big Oh'

'Fuck... I mean... It’s not like I wanted to listen to him for the rest of the way, but damn...’

‘Yeah we could solve it better…’

"Sky..." he began slowly, still collecting his thoughts. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean--"

"It's fine"

′If he says so--’

'He’s lying, you moron!'

"No, Sky..." he interrupted him and stood in on his way. "I'm really sorry, I shouldn't be saying things like that!"

"It's fine"

"Don’t say it’s fine when it’s obviously not!" he screamed.

Sky opened his mouth to speak, but then there was a rustle again. Four pushed the other hero out of the way, but all he saw was the blurry outline of the figure. He bit his lower lip.

"Someone is following us," he muttered softly, Sky's eyes widened.

“...did you see what it was? Or who?" Sky asked, slowly pulling his sword from behind his back.

Four shook his head and bit his lower lip. “But I have suspicions. You know, I used to have... a friend"

'...very accurate term'

‘Shut up…’

“He liked to hide in the dark” They turned back to back as Four drew his sword from scabbard. "And I have an unpleasant feeling that it is his doing"

"Is this… friend of yours hard to beat?"

Four narrowed his eyes looking for signs of movement. "On his own? No. But unfortunately he tends to forge alliances with the wrong people"

"What does he look like?"

Four froze. What was he going to tell him? That he looked exactly like him? That he was his doppelganger? That he was his shadow and the fifth repressed, degraded part?

'Of course not!'

'The truth is always the best way out!'

'Yes, in fairy tales!'

'He won't believe us'

'The questions will start'

'We’ll be fucked'

'Watch out!’

Four looked up but before he could see what was going on, he was knocked to the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit1: idk why I add this but if someone's interested for what plant Four mistook moss then it's ribgrass.


	10. Four (part II)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I read Four sword manga in the summer. I didn't like Shadow very much.

Four looked up. His ears rang. Someone knocked him down? But there was no one here. He couldn't see anyone or anything flying towards him. So why? Why was he lying on the ground? In the very next moment the sword whistled in front of his face. His eyes widened as he acknowledged that the weapon belonged to Sky. Was he out of his mind?! _The blade barely missed his nose!_

“What the--”

Only after a while he noticed the gaunt, stringy fingers stretching out towards him. Four jumped back or at least he wanted to because all he managed to do was roll backwards. He didn't even have time to think about his miserable flip. He could still see those cadaverous fingers before his eyes just as well as he could hear the ringing question in his mind. _Who did they belong to?_

‘-see above’ he managed to hear a thin and tense voice.

And so he did. He slowly followed these long come after by a thin wrist until he met nothingness. No, it wasn't nothingness, it was a coat sleeve. Long and dark as the night itself... He looked higher to see the character's face. He froze. There was none.

At that moment, everything, not only the head, seemed to scream at him to run. But there was another voice, indistinct and as if coming from behind a wall or water.

“Stay away from him”

At first he thought Sky was talking to him. There was something in his voice that made Four stay exactly where he was. Only later he founded out it was a _threat_.

The figure also stopped, turning Its head slowly towards Sky. The hood hung glumly in front of Its face. Sky adjusted the grip on his sword, but kept it casually by his side. Why--

“You are an intelligent being,” he stated.

‘What is he--’

‘What the hell is he talking about?!’

Four couldn’t believe what he heard. Why was he sabotaging them?

Sky turned to face him, looked straight in the eyes. He nodded at him to get up and walk away. But Four didn’t do that, he was still lying petrified on the grass. “We don't have to fight,” For a moment it looked like Sky was going to throw the Master sword aside, but he didn't. “Let us leave and go on your own way. It will be best for all of us.”

Only then he shook off the shock. As Sky continued talking, Four managed to crawl away.

'Sword...'

He needed a weapon. He looked around frantically and saw it a few meters away. He stumbled in its direction. The world looked strange, irregular. It staggered in front of his eyes.

“Go away, we don't want to fight you. You are _not_ our enemy and we aren't yours.” Sky spoke seriously and as if honestly. Almost like he was telling the truth. Because he was lying, right? It was just for show - it had to be just for show. Four glanced at the hooded figure out of the corner of his eye. A shiver ran up his back, he couldn't take his eyes off It. Then he stumbled and fell.

The creature immediately looked away from Sky and began to approach him again. Four's heart started to beat in his ears. He reached for his sword and pointed it at this… this _monster_ , but it fell from his trembling hand. Then Sky showed up; he stood in front of him, separating him from the monster.

“I'm giving you the last chance,” Four boogled. He... he was serious? Even after the creature tried to kill him? “Go away or it’ll get nasty.”

‘This will be our end--’

Four tightened his fingers on the weapon and tried to calm his breathing. No, it wasn’t over yet. He won’t give up without a fight!

When the monster tried to come towards him, he was ready to stab it right in the guts; but then Sky appeared. He blocked Its way to Four. When the monster took a step to the left, Sky also went that way. When it went right so did the hero. Four frowned at this strange exchange of movements. It looked like some kind of new, very stiff dance.

‘...what in goddess' name are they doing?’

Only when the creature extended a yellow almost transparent hand towards him, Sky threatened him with the sword. Then a fight broke out.

Sky attacked first, aimed at the monster's hand. He probably wanted to cut it off but failed. He looked surprised; he hesitated for a moment only to attack once again with more strength this time. He tried to drill right through It and attack from the side but the cloak was too bulky. Most of the time he hit air. Nevertheless, he pushed It to defense, now he was the one determining the trail of the fight.

‘We have to help him’

‘Now’

‘We'll show this motherfucker how those who mess with us end up!’ 

Four grabbed his sword and was about to run towards Sky when the blade fell from his hand again. But why?

‘Damn it!’

Now he noticed that his hands not only hadn't stopped trembling at all but his whole body had joined them.

‘It's because of this blow we've taken’

‘Fucking hell...’

Someone continued speaking, but Four was no longer listening. He watched Sky fighting the monster. The realization hit him hard. That's why Sky was defending him in the first place, why he was dragging the monster away. He knew he couldn't fend him off alone. But… _damn_. He gritted his teeth. He couldn't sit here doing nothing!

‘He can manage without us’

‘He pushed It to defensive, it's fine’

‘Uh... I was hoping for a little fight…’

‘He's doing pretty well so far’

Four tightened his fingers on the grass, although it was hard to call such a loose grip a tightening. Internally he could feel the fire and the will to act burning his insides. There had to be something… there had to be something he could do…!

‘Lie still’

But he didn't want to lie still! He wanted to act and--

Sky was pushed right into a tree. He bounced off it like a rag doll and fell limply to the ground. When he got up on his hands, he was grunting and holding his throat.

‘He can’t breathe…’

The figure stopped above Sky. Four gritted his teeth tightly.

‘This fucker…’

Without much thinking, he grasped the sword in both hands. It wasn’t intended to be held like that but if he didn’t do it this way the blade would have fallen from his hands. He lunged at the monster with a loud cry; but then It turned at him. Four shivered. It completely ignored Sky and started heading towards him!

He desperately tightened his grip but it didn't do much, his hands were still trembling madly. He tried to get up, but his legs buckled under him, they were unable to hold onto him. As if his bones were made of jelly.

He stepped back.

In the distance he saw Sky wobbly set up on his feet. He was leaning one hand against a tree, still trying to catch his breath.

‘We have to deal with It alone’

‘Are we splitting up?’

‘Too risky’

‘So what are we gonna do?!’

Four looked around, but there was nothing to throw at It. He swallowed hard. Should he keep crawling and wait for Sky? No, he couldn't run any further. Sooner or later It would get him. He tried to get up. This time he didn’t fall down immediately, but his knees kept shaking.

He drew the sword in front of him, and while he was still standing, ran straight at It. He made a swing. He missed, or maybe the creature dodged it? He didn’t know, everything was too blurry. He felt dizzy. He spun on his heel and tried to stab the monster to the head. He didn't reach that high, the sword pierced the fabric of the robe where It’s chest was supposed to be placed. The creature didn't waver. His breath caught in his throat. He jumped back, staggering to his knees. Did he miss? He looked at It again. His eyes widened. Earlier, this detail didn't attract his attention but now... despite many wounds on the arm and uncovered legs... It didn't... there wasn't…

‘...why is It not bleeding?’

Four rolled to the side as a bony hand extended towards him.

‘We have to get Sky out of here and run--’

‘What are you talking about, huh? No way! Now that we can fight, we must not give up!’

‘Oh, and how are you gonna beat It, huh? Please, enlighten me! How are you going to beat something that doesn't even _bleed_!’

‘Calm down, both of you!’

Suddenly the blade emerged from where the creature's belly should be.

‘...it’s the Master Sword’

And that meant...

Sky plunged the blade deeper and turned it ninety degrees clockwise, trying to deepen the wound. The motion was accompanied by a watery noise that made Four feel _sick_. But as usual, it didn't seem to have any effect on this monster. Sky must’ve noticed this because he tried to draw out his weapon. He tugged once, tugged again, but was unable to pull the blade out. It must have wedged itself. The monster turned slowly to face him, and Four knew that if he didn't do something right now, the game would be over for Sky.

He threw himself on the ground aiming at the monster's feet and tried to stuck his sword where the tendons should be. But it was too late, he was a few seconds late.

There was a loud crash and in the next second Sky was lying on the ground. 

Before Four could do anything, he was lifted up by the hood. He kicked and tried to pull away. The voices in his head whined alternately, he couldn't decipher them or put apart.

“Put us on the ground! Leave us alone! What do you want?! Get those dirty hands off--”

The figure brought Four to Its face high, and then it struck Four just how much the monster smelled of wet earth and decay. He froze.

“...Shadow is the one who sent you, right?” he asked softly.

He felt anger boiling all over him. He started kicking again and tried to punch the monster in the face.

“Why didn't he come here himself, huh? Is he afraid of me? Ha, very good! As soon as I find him, I'll tear legs out of his-- What do you think you’re doing?!”

The figure didn't answer him. Instead, It continued to unhook the bag from his belt. When It finished, It threw Four to the ground. Shooting pain came in a wave down Four's back. His limbs bounced off the ground. He choked on his own breath. His eyesight went dark for a moment.

He began to drift away when a strange murmur rose to his ears. He opened his eyes slowly and was surprised to discover that the monster... was emptying the contents of his bag. Tiny pieces of paper, a bitten pencil and supplies… they all landed on the damp ground.

Four felt anger overwhelm him. Not only was he unable to resist It, not only the last few days had sucked, but now his things were destroyed?! His hands tightened on the grass, but he didn't know if it was a spasm or scraps of desperate willpower.

The monster stretched Its arms back and grasped the sword by the hilt, slowly pulling it out. It also threw it to the ground. Then the creature bent down and began rummaging. When It rose again, It was holding something red between Its fingers. It took a moment for Four to realize that it was in fact an apple, and a damn good looking one. It put the fruit in Its coat pocket and... left. Just like that. Four kept his eyes on the creature until It vanished into the darkness of the forest.

‘...maybe It was not from Shadow after all’

That was the last thing on his mind right now. He loosened the grip and took a deep breath. At that moment he was glad he was able to get out of it alive.

“Sky! You’re still breathing ‘ere?” he screamed, not wanting to get up; he was far too exhausted for that. At this point, he hadn't even considered that his screams might have brought someone here. The whole situation was so absurd and strange that he wanted to laugh.

Sky replied with a guttural groan.

“Sky?” Four rolled over on his stomach. Sky was still lying flat on the ground; he was clutching his arm.

Four crawled towards him. “Does anything hurt you?” He asked.

Sky opened his tightly closed eyes. Apart from the unusual frown on his face, he looked relatively fine. “No, but... it doesn't look pretty,” he said with a hint of amusement in his voice. Four frowned.

“Take your hand away. Let me see…” his voice died in his throat as he saw the bone contorted at an unnatural angle.

‘Fuck, it doesn't look good’

Four tried to not frown as much as he wanted to.

At the moment, Sky didn't seem bothered, maybe he was faking it, maybe not but... damn, when the adrenaline will run out...

‘His arm needs a manipulating’

Yeah, Four heard something about it, but--

‘How are we supposed to manipulate his arm?’

‘...’

‘Please tell me you're joking, Vio’

‘...I don’t know how to do this’

Four brushed his wet fringe back.

“It doesn't look nice, huh?”

“Don’t get up!” Four pressed Sky to the ground. “Just... just let me think…”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


In the end, Four decided to stiffen Sky’s arm against a stick and put on a sling. Four was almost sure it wasn't done well enough, but he couldn't offer him anything but that and a red potion. As for the latter one, Sky initially didn’t want to take it. He didn't say why, but Four guessed he was afraid of a poorly fused bone. Well, in the end, he reached for it anyway when the pain became unbearable.

“You were brave,” he said as they sat leaning against a tree together.

“Anyone would do that in my place,” Sky tried to shrug but hissed in pain. Four hit his good arm.

‘We didn't stiffen his arm for him to fuck it up now!’

‘Don't be rude’

‘Yeah don’t be fucking rude, Blue’

Four shook his head.

“You know... not everyone would negotiate with a monster,” he looked at his scratched fingers. He frowned. “Though when I think about it now, I don't know if it was brave or just stupid…”

‘Two sides of one coin’

“...But how did you know you could communicate with It?”

Sky looked ahead, and Four couldn’t quite tell what expression his face was expressing.

“It tried to overwhelm you instead of killing you, and when I said something to It, It listened to me... but I wasn’t sure for hundred percent if that's what you're asking.”

Four nodded and began to play with his fingers. He slumped slightly.

“I'm... I'm sorry,” he said after a moment of hesitation.

“For what?”

“For... I haven't been fair to you for... the last few days,” he admitted, embarrassed.

“Oh, come on,” Sky waved his free hand. “It happens”

Four bit his lower lip and pressed his fingers around his knees.

‘He doesn’t understand or is he just pretending?'

“Here,” At the last moment, Four cough the pear thrown at him.

He frowned.

“You have a broken arm, Sky,” he said slowly and looked him straight in the eye. “You need it more. Don't make me feed you.” He gave him back the fruit but the hero didn't take it.

“I'm not hungry,” he said with a smile.

“ _Sky_ ” he grunted through gritted teeth, feeling his patience running out.

“ _Four_ ” Sky said in a poor attempt to fake his tone.

'Someone please hold me back before I spread this pear on his face’

Four huffed. “We'll split it in half, that's my last offert.” Sky already opened his mouth to argue but then Four held out his hand to him. “Please?”

Sky hesitated for a moment but finally took the offered half.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Do you think It'll come back?” although Four did not specify who he meant, Sky immediately knew who he was talking about.

He shook his head. “I don't think so, we don't have any more apples with us”

Four narrowed his eyes. Yesterday he was too tired to think about it, but today he felt the uneasiness curling at the bottom of his stomach.

“How do you know It only wants apples?” he asked, looking at him carefully.

“I don't know, I just think so,” he paused and then added. “It's just a hunch”

‘A hunch? Is this some kind of joke?’

‘Well he was right about this creature earlier…’

“Well I hope you're right. It was fucking terrifying.” Four actually didn't know why he said it. He usually tried to be aloof, but right now… to great amazement he realized that he saw no reason to keep doing it. Moreover, he didn’t understand why he was doing it in the first place.

Sky smiled slightly. “It was”

They walked in silence from now on. But it wasn't an unpleasant silence like the one a few days ago. There was no tension in it, no naive promises or understatements. It was… kind of nice, and the forest they were walking through for the first time didn't seem so dark.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


When they were too tired to go on and their eyelids felt way too heavy, they set up a camp. They unpacked what they had and ate a modest meal. This time it was possible without shoving food down each other's throats. They were both hungry after a long hike.

Sky offered him to cover Sailcloth with him, but Four disagreed. For some reason, he preferred not to. There was visible sadness and concern in Sky's eyes, but he didn't push any further.

Later when he woke he felt a strange throbbing above his ears and his eyes were tired.

‘We got up earlier than usual’

‘No shit ‘

Four rubbed his eyes lazily. His limbs were numb from sleeping on the ground and chilled to the bone. Maybe he should agree to Sky's proposal...

‘Yeah, and maybe you want to eat from one bowl, huh?!’

‘If you want to freeze your ass off then please, be my guest--’

A grunt snapped him out of his numbness. He turned to Sky. The hero was lying with his head resting on the bag, his entire body except for face was covered with sailcloth. He was trembling.

‘He’s cold?’

As Four approached him, he saw beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He frowned.

‘He’s not cold, he’s having a nightmare’

Four shook him slightly without much thinking. Sky's eyes widened, he sucked on the air sharply. Four withdrew his hand as he noticed that Sky was intentionally distancing himself from his touch.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, I’m here”

Sky studied his face for a moment, but eventually took a deep breath and got up from the bedroll. He looked around and for a moment… it looked as if he expected to see something else. He seemed almost disappointed.

“Everything’s good?”

Sky wiped the sweat from his face and nodded slowly.

Four tightened his fingers on his lap. “You sure?”

“Yes…” he said after a moment and turned to face him. “Are we going?”

Four nodded, and they both hit the road without eating breakfast.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


‘He’s sad’

‘Yeah I heard you the first time, Red’

‘He needs space, that's all’

‘Noone should be alone while suffering’

‘But he’s not a--’

“Something happened?” Four asked, trying to keep his tone casual.

There was no answer.

“Sky?”

Only then the other hero seemed to notice that he was being asked about something. “You have been…” _not quite there._ “...pensive since morning. Everything’s good?”

Sky nodded uncertainly. “Yeah it’s just…”

Four tilted his head to the side as he surveyed him carefully. “It’s just…?”

Sky sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I remembered something - not very interesting things if you ask me”

“Does this have to do anything with your nightmare?” he asked before he could think it over. Luckily enough, Sky didn't seem to mind.

“In a way yes, I just…” he sighed again, this time more irritated. “Sorry I…”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he said without taking his eyes off him. “ _But_ as far as I know telling someone things like that usually makes you feel better,” he added casually.

Sky considered his offert for a long time but finally made up his mind.

“I..." he began, a strange grimace forming on his face. “There is this person I…”

Four waited calmly for him to tell his story from the moment he wanted to. He crossed his arms behind his back and straightened, sticking his chest forward.

“We didn’t really get along when we were kids” Four nodded silently. “He… he did things that were… _awful_ in general...” his eyes narrowed dangerously.

“And I know it's rather normal for kids and it's hard to require from them to… ugh it's so stupid,” he ruffled his hair angrily as if they were the reason of his distress.

Four looked him straight in the eye.

“It’s not stupid if it matters to you,” Sky bit his lower lip but didn't deny it.

“I-- I wasn’t always a hero, there was a time when… when I was just Link and I-- I wasn’t someone… I wasn’t someone special, you know? Truth to be said I’m not good at many things” 

Four frowned but didn't say anything.

“Nobody paid much attention to me and-- I don't know... maybe that's why he got away with it, or maybe because I never went to anyone with it…”

“Do you regret this? Not going to anyone?”

“I…” Sky grimaced and looked away. Four noticed that for some time now he had been tearing a scrap of green tunic between his fingers. “I don’t-- I don’t know… I try to not think about it”

He fell silent and for a moment Four was afraid he might have cut in unnecessarily, but when he looked at Sky's face, he noticed that he was thinking intensely.

“The thing is he has changed,” he said softly, almost whispering.

‘Well… that’s a good thing?’

“That’s bad?” he asked, confused.

Sky laughed freely. “No, it's just a little weird when he tries to give me a hug and not a black eye”

‘black…

‘...eye?’

‘We heard it correctly?’

‘But he doesn’t look like…’

_Like what?!_ he wanted to scream aloud.

...like a victim.

Sky hung his head and played with the sailcloth’s clasp. “Sorry, it was out of place, you didn't need to hear about it and--”

Four pulled on his good hand. “It’s fine, Sky. You don’t need to apologize for anything.”

Sky looked unconvinced.

‘What are we going to tell him?’

Sky looked down.

‘He’s feeling weak and miserable…’

“...let's sit down for a moment,” he said diplomatically, and dragged Sky to the nearest tree. They both sat down on its wild and thick roots.

Four looked at his calloused fingers. Did he really want to talk about it? He clenched his hands into fists.

“Before... this _thing_ attacked us, I mentioned to you that it might be the doing of someone I know.”

Sky nodded, still not quite there. “Your friend you said”

Four shuddered.

‘Poor choice of words’

‘Indeed very poor’

“I’m-- I’m not sure if this was his doing” he pulled knees up to his chest and curled up into a ball. “He should be dead, but now after all this mess with portals and different timelines, I'm not... I don't know what to believe.” He rested his chin on his knees.

Sky shifted. “I'm sorry about your friend.” Four didn't even blink.

“Thanks I guess…” he looked at the forest through half closed eyelids. “I don't want to say that I know how you feel, but I think I can understand you at least a little.”

Sky's body tensed, For just shook his head. “It’s no use he’s dead’’ _probably._

Sky hung his head.

“I also don't know what to think about him,” he admitted. “When we first met, we were enemies. And in fact, it remained so almost to the very end”

“What changed?”

Four smiled bitterly. “He did. He decided he'd rather fight on our-- my side than against,” he shrugged. “I don't know where his sudden change of heart came from, why he decided to abandon his goals. Maybe he saw what he was doing was wrong? I will probably never find out. Ultimately, he sacrificed himself to help me save Hyrule.”

“It’s…”

“It’s unbelievable, isn’t it?”

“...brave”

Four pressed his lips into a thin line, he didn't know what to think about it. He tilted his head to the side.

“I dunno. It’s just... he did a lot of bad things and… I think maybe in another life we could be friends or something but…” he closed his eyes, preparing to say something he had never said to anyone before. Something he didn't even want to think about. Something lingered in the corner of his mind since-- “Even though he sacrificed himself in the end… I still can’t find it in myself to forgive him. It’s… It just feels _wrong_ ”

No one said anything for a long time.

“Umm I’m sorry Four, I-- I don’t really know what to say--”

“I don’t expect you to say anything” Four closed his eyes and rested his head in his knees.

“You don’t need to say anything” he corrected himself as he realized how rude he must have sounded.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Have you never thought about talking to him about it?” for a moment Sky looked puzzled, but not long after, understanding flared in his eyes.

“We did talk about it. He apologized to me,” and before Four could say anything, he added. “It’s not easy like that. I-- he said he never thought that, that I was hurting. Not before he found me-- and I believe him. I… I don’t think he’s a bad person, but it’s just so weird to be friends after… you know…”

Four nodded.

"How's your arm?"

Sky looked at it and smiled sadly.

“It doesn’t hurt as much as before but…”

“But…?”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to use it”

Four gritted his teeth. That's what he feared.

“I don't want to scare you, Sky, but it will probably have to be broken again”

Sky paled, but made no attempt to deny it. “I know”

Four brushed the ground off his knees. He was tired and should go to sleep now. Especially since they left earlier today than usual. He had already muttered 'night' under his breath when Sky asked him if he would like to cover together with his sailcloth. He agreed.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“We’re running low on supplies”

Four muttered as he looked through his bag.

‘It would have happened sooner or later’

‘We’re lucky it lasted for so long'

Sky slipped the bag over one shoulder and smiled at him.

“Is not so bad. If we reduce our portions, it should last for a little over a week.”

Four smirked and tucked his nose in his hood. “Optimist,” 

But Sky heard his inadvertent comment.

“I? An optimist? I am simply telling the truest truth!”

“Of course,” he replied and began putting all things back in the bag.

“You… You don’t believe me? _Me_?” Sky's eyebrows arched, Four might risk a statement that he looked offended.

“Of course” he smirked.

Sky pursed his lips and crossed his arms. Four laughed at that.

“What’s so funny?” he grunted, but Four could see that he could barely hold back a smile.

“Nothing” he patted him on the shoulder. “It's just weird seeing you this way,” he admitted.

Sky unknowingly took a step back. Four noticed it. He held out his hands in a reassuring gesture. “I don’t mean it in a bad way! It's just... in the camp you acted... different to say at best”

Sky shifted from foot to foot. “What do you mean?”

Four slung his bag around his waist and gave a sign to start walking. 

“You've always been so… quiet, you didn't usually try to talk to us. At some point I thought you actually didn’t like us. Well at least until Warriors started hanging around you.” he stopped to gather his thoughts. “Then you acted…” a disgusted grimace appeared on his face. “You've been painfully polite and kind. Even when Legend mocked you.”

Sky looked confused. “That's bad?”

“I don’t know. I’m no one to judge it. It just always seemed artificial to me.” he shrugged. “And it's always nice to see someone taking Legend down.”

Sky chuckled softly. It was a nice sound.

“Hey... Sky?”

The hero shot him a curious glance out of the corner of his eye.

Four squeezed his fingers together. His cheeks prickled slightly and his lips twitched. “I-- I like you”

He felt the warmth move up his neck. He ignored the need to look on his shoes.

Sky turned to him for a moment, a beaming smile on his lips. “I like you too, Four”

Four's eyes widened.

‘He’s…’

‘He’s that dumb?’

Four looked aside and squeezed his eyes shut. His heart was beating like crazy, he could hear its rhythm in his ears.

“No, you-- you don’t understand I-- I actually like you!”

Sky stopped, looked at him with wide eyes and gaping chops.

Four felt himself losing his temper, his whole face burning with sheer embarrassment.

“Not like that you moron!” he yelled. “I--” he looked away, he couldn't bear the pressure to meet his eyes. “All this time I-- you were indifferent to me. I felt absolutely nothing for you. I have never seen you as a companion, but more like... like…”

‘...a shadow?’

Four almost winced at the dramatic comparison.

“...like you were just some random person who stuck to us” looked up at him from the green grass. He finally said it aloud.

Sky played with the strand of hair that hung lazily beside his face. He was smiling warmly, but also somehow awkwardly. Almost as if he was embarrassed.

“Then… then I’m glad you changed your mind. I really am.”

“You’re… You’re not mad?” he asked softly.

“Why would I be?”

_Well... maybe because I never helped you? Because I never even tried to get close to you? Because you were suffering and no one was by your side? Because of judgment?_

But he didn't say any of those things.

He shook his head. “I don’t know. Just… let’s go.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I don't remember whether Four's sword was two handed or not but I'm too lazy to check it.
> 
> Also it's the first chapter with something resembling a happy ending. Cheers!


	11. Hyrule

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sky is bitter in this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my best work but I lost track of how many times I tried to write Hyrule's chapter.

“Can I sit with you?”

Sky stopped carving and looked up at him. He stared at him closely but didn't do it judgingly. It rather resembled concern or distrust. Hyrule wasn't entirely sure. For some reason it made him feel a strange kind of unease. He didn't understand it just as he didn't understand why after a while his face began to sting and his hands sweat.

“You don't have to ask me that, you know?” he said after a moment and went back to his job.

Hyrule sat down next to him. He pulled one knee closer and rested his head on it. He watched the hero's work carefully. He wasn't doing it very discreetly but why would he? After all, they had been traveling for almost two months. Hyrule began playing thoughtfully with his hair. If he thought about it, it was the longest time he traveled with someone.

He blinked. Sky was still carving something in the wood, that's for sure; but what was he trying to create remained a mystery. Hyrule looked at it from different angles but he couldn't guess if it was a bird or a lizard. On the other hand, Hyrule never knew much about art, maybe this was how the process of carving looked like? You create an object out of a piece of nothing and then transform it into something else?

He frowned. But wouldn't it be easier to skip this process and go straight to what you wanted; wouldn't it be more efficient?

Sky stopped.

“Why are you here?”

Hyrule sat up. He lost track of time. He wondered how long he'd been sitting here without saying anything. His face flushed red, he looked away. Legend had told him several times before that his prolonged silence was kind of creepy. Hyrule would be lying if he said he fully understood what he meant - the others always had something to say and filled the silence. Why would he also need to do this?

But right now, on this hot summer day, sitting in the shade of linden next to Sky, he kind of felt a bit of what the veteran was talking about. Silence was often his only companion, she illuminated his path through the dungeons, she watched his victories and defeats, she sat with him on cool evenings by the fire and she sang him to sleep. She was familiar.

But with someone by his side silence felt strange.

He looked at Sky's face, he didn't look back at him, his gaze was fixed on the figurine. What he saw was nothing he hadn’t expected or hadn’t seen before he came here.

“You look tired”

Sky set the short knife and the unfinished figurine aside. He wiped his fingers on the tunic and rubbed his eyes. In that instant, Hyrule had the thought that Sky was older than he had said but the thought faded as soon as it appeared.

“Nobody slept well last night”

Hyrule nodded silently. The nighttime alarms were always the worst; sudden, unexpected and paralyzing like a bucket of cold water. But Hyrule wasn't stupid, people didn't look like this after one sleepless night.

“You look sad”

Sky didn't seem moved by his comment.

“Maybe I am sad”

Hyrule didn't know what to make of such an answer, he was prepared for its feverish denial rather than truth. Nevertheless, he accepted it as an answer.

“Want to share?” he asked, moving closer.

“Not particularly”

Hyrule stopped and stepped back holding back a frown. He didn't know what was his problem. They were all here for him, he was here for him. He looked at the tips of his muddy boots. But how could he help him if Sky didn't want to talk to him? Hyrule didn't want to say it aloud but some part of him was starting to get fed up with it. 

“You know…” he started playing with his fingers unconsciously. “It's just... you always look sad.”

Sky didn't respond to that.

“You always sit alone on the sidelines and… and sometimes” he looked straight into his eyes, waiting for the slightest reaction. “Sometimes it seems like you don't want to be here”

Sky took a deep breath and leaned against the tree trunk. He closed his eyes.

“Maybe it’s because I don’t”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're nearing the end~


	12. Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sky writes letters to Sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: “I don’t like self-pitying and non decision making characters.”  
> Also me: writes about Sky self-pitying himself and doing nothing for 3000+ words.
> 
> Well, what can I say? Bon appetit.

~~Dearest Zelda~~

Dear Zelda

It's a funny thing because you always told me to pay more attention to other classes than fencing and I _always_ persisted that it would never be useful to me when I became a knight of Skyloft, ~~which is kind of true considering I wouldn't have anyone to write them to anyway.~~ And here I am writing letters to you and worrying about correctness, grammar and other nonsense that doesn't matter because today I will throw them in the fire. Even if I wanted to send it to you _(blurred)_ Right now I'm in a strange situation because... I don't know where I am? I mean, I know where I am more or less, but I wouldn't be able to explain it to you without making you feel upset and I don't want you to be sad. You have the most beautiful smile and I wouldn't forgive myself if I were the reason behind its disappearance.

I know that this introduction was long and probably overwhelming but as I mentioned before, I never really paid attention to how letters are supposed to be written. I might as well be writing a sonnet and not know it. The only thing I know about letters is that I’ve never received one and they should start with a greeting. So

Dear Zelda

All you need to know is that I'm on another adventure right now but this time I’m with a few other people and I don't want to sound like a self-pitying brat but I don't like it here _(a few stains of ink)_

This place is strange. But not normally 'strange' like the surface we know. This place looks _wild_. There are monsters on every corner and this creates an unpleasant atmosphere among my companions. And about them, ~~I think you should know something~~

~~I owe you this~~

~~that's why I'm writing~~ _(further words are fuzzy)_

They don't like me.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

  
  


I think what I wrote at the end of the last letter was rather rude and I'm feeling kinda bad about it _(blurred)_ Especially since it's not their fault. ~~If I were in their place, I probably wouldn't want to talk to myself either.~~ _(blurred)_

I know that before I disappeared you kept telling me to not think that way but I don't know if fooling myself on this matter changes anything. Especially since the fault lays on my side. It’s kind of weird because I’m always with them but most of the time I feel at least two miles away. Sometimes it seems like I'm not really here. Like I’m only a silent observer and no one knows about my existence.

And I'd really like to tell you it's their fault but that would be a lie. After... you know what, we agreed to never lie to each other. And I’m not going to break this promise.

As I mentioned, the fault is mine. The others try to talk to me but I can see it's forced. When they talk to me they don't behave half as freely as when they do it with each other. And on the one hand, I love what a companionate group they've become, but on the other I'm jealous because I'm not one of them.

It's probably selfish and terribly grumpy of me, but is having friends or a place to belong really that much?

After such a long time I should probably get used to it, but I don’t think I ever will.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

I decided that from now on I will write letters in a different way, ~~after all these are my letters so I can break all the rules in them, right?~~ I know you don't like it when I'm brooding, so I decided to write something positive at the beginning of every letter. So… I found out what a sonnet is! It is a short rhyme! That would be all good news. But since I mentioned it, now you are probably wondering from where ~~someone like me~~ found out about it. I won’t lie, if it weren't for _(blurred)_ Warriors I probably would never know it.

Now you are probably wondering who Warriors is. Warriors isn't his real name but I can't reveal it to you. In any case, the Captain - because that's what we call him, is one of those people who didn't give up on me and we talk to each other from time to time.

Sometimes we sit on watch together- he because he can't sleep and I because I have to watch the camp. I like talking with him. Sometimes when I wake up, I'm afraid I actually imagined this, and that it didn't happen, but when we gather the camp in the morning, he usually pats me on the shoulder or smiles in my direction, and then I know it wasn't a dream. But I don't like the way he looks at me. As if he felt sorry for me.

I know how I look like, I know how I act, but pity is the last thing I want. Especially from him.

Warriors has all the traits I don't have, which is probably the reason why it pains me so much.

He’s courageous, brave, the life and soul of the party, and always knows how to handle a situation. On top of that he is full of charisma and has this natural charm around himself _(stains of ink)_ I'm sure he’s very popular ~~in his~~ _(blurred)_

~~I wish i was like him.~~

I'm sure you would like him.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

I don't know how I ended my last letter but I'm sure I promised you to always write something nice at the beginning. And today I offer you this short rhyme.

_(flooded with ink)_

I know you would like something more funny but it's been tough lately. ~~I realize this is no excuse and I could have done better but~~ I hope you like it.

I know you will never read it and I am actually talking to myself but could you promise me something? When we see each other again... would you fly with me? No matter in which direction, just the farthest from here

and from Skyloft.

I miss you so much…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

Today I started carving a new figurine. Recently someone found a larger piece of wood but when no one was looking, I took it and hid under a sailcloth. It was meant for a campfire, but I don’t think they will be angry with me. Now, as I write this, it's dark and I'm on watch as usual except today nobody is sitting next to me. It was a tough day and they needed rest. Anyway, I haven't written to you for a long time and this is a pretty good opportunity, don't you think? I like writing to you, when I do it I always remember that I'm not alone and I don't feel as _(blurred)_

But going back to the figurine, I think you'd like it. It represents your loftwing! I've tried very hard to make it as authentic as possible but it's a bit difficult without looking at him. When I try to remember what he looked like I have a general idea but when I want to see details they are blurry and indistinct _(a few stains of ink)_

Anyway, I think it looks pretty good so far. I should finish this in a few days or nights. When I see you again, I'll give it to you. Maybe this is how I'll make it up for all those burnt letters.

There is one more thing I want you to know. While carving, I cut my skin in a few places, but that wasn’t intentional. Please don't worry about me.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

Today was a tough day. I don't even know how to describe it. I just wish you were here.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Groose

I don't even know what salutation to use _(a few stains of ink)_

I know you don't like me but please would you stop haunting my dreams? Lately _(blurred)_ I’ve been dreaming about you a lot and I don't want to go into details since I know you probably don't care but

could you stop?

They don't like me, and dreams are the only place where I feel safe.

Why do you have to take them from me?

Just stop, please.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

Today Wild - yet one of my companions - found the figurine I was making for you. He didn’t break it. He asked me what it represented and I told him what Loftwings are. He was interested in the subject and sat with me all day. Only now I do realize that it was the first time in two weeks that someone actually _wanted_ to talk to me. Maybe this adventure won’t be as bad as I thought?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Ghirahim

I hate you _(the rest of the page is illegible or flooded with ink)_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_(wrinkled paper as if some water had been spilled on it)_

Dear Zelda

I remembered the construction of the letter. At the very beginning there should be a greeting and a question about the sense of the addressee. So how are you? I hope you’re doing well because I’m fine. I'm in a different place now and I’m not sure whether I like it here more than where I was before. I guess I just want to get back to you.

I have a question. Is _(a few stains of ink)_ is there something wrong with me? Everyone else is enjoying this adventure and I don't want to be here.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

Today was a great day. Even now, as I’m writing, I can't stop smiling. The rest of my companions decided to do the competition and guess what? I won! For the first time in weeks I feel like there is something I’m actually good at. Defeating Hyrule wasn't that hard, but Legend wasn’t so easy. He fought decisively and quickly, but it was enough to put him on the defensive and he wasn't doing all that well. No wonder since he usually wears all these trinkets. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them protected him from forged wounds.

These fights were quite refreshing. For a moment I felt like I was back at the academy at fencing classes.

But then I was going to face Twilight. And I should probably make the situation clearer to you. Twilight is tall, broad-shouldered, and strong. ~~Once I saw him pick up a huge boulder without much effort!~~ _(a few following sentences are illegible)_ And the marks on his face _(a few stains of ink)_ they make me uncomfortable for some reason. They look like runes but I'm not sure. I see him with Wild a lot. I don't know why he follows him so stubbornly but that's none of my business. The thing is when he is with him, his face brightens and he seems almost friendly. Most of the time, he has an unpleasant eyesight. Something between reverie and concealed anger.

The first moment I faced him I thought he was going to beat me to death.

But then he smiled. There was something warm and comforting about it. He patted me on the shoulder.

and then we started fighting.

At that moment, I felt as alive as never before. There was no past or future. There were no pathetic looks or insults. Only the two of us existed at the moment.

Twilight fought first-rate, but he was making the same mistake I was making during _(blurred)_ I don't want to think about it. Twilight had a habit of lowering his guard when he thought he already had me. When he made a swing he was sure he’d defeated me but at the same moment he had my sword under his throat. If you could see his face! He looked so confused and

Someone's approaching, forgive me not finishing i

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

Because of my foolishness two of my comrades were injured. I'm ashamed of myself. I have to make it up for them.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

I'm tired of trying. When I'm not doing anything it's bad. When I try to do something, it’s even worse.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

I have to confess to you. I've been planning an escape recently. I don’t feel safe here.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

I hate it all. I hate how weak I am. I hate that no matter how hard I try nothing goes my way. That every now and then I get a glimmer of hope that seems to tell me that not everything is lost, and then comes the reckoning of my expectations, ~~however low they may be~~ , and it turns out that it all didn't matter from the beginning. I'm tired of this. It's like I'm trapped in the loop of my own failures.

As if that was not enough now everyone is looking at me reproachfully. The blade with which one of my companions was wounded turned out to be poisoned and we don’t know if he will survive the night. They probably think it would be better if it was me, I can see it in their eyes. And I despise it. I really do. I despise them for thinking this way. And I despise myself for not even wanting to argue.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_(The whole page is rumpled and the writing is crooked as if it was written in a hurry, or with an uncertain hand)_

Dear Zelda

Time found my letter to you in the ashes of the fire. I don't know how much of that fragment was saved, but when he took me aside I was sure he was going to hit me. He didn’t. He just looked sadly at me and asked whether I really thought that about them. I said nothing to him, I couldn't even meet his eyes. I was shaking and feeling like I might pass out at any moment. Time said nothing more and walked away from me. It's night right now and the third watch. Wind was supposed to have it but when he saw that I was awake, he asked if I’d like to take it over. I naturally agreed. Wind looked unconvinced so maybe it was a joke? I don't know, I don't know so many things right now.

_(the rest of the letter is illegible)_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

I don't want to be here. Everyone is looking at me weird.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

I escaped from the camp. I’m sorry. Your words about running away still ring in my ears. I _(stains of ink)_ know it's not good. I know I shouldn't be doing this. But what should I really do? I don’t know. I don’t know anything.

_Nothing except that it was the best decision I ever made. I feel more alive than the last few months._

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

It’s been a few days. I… I guess it’s just now occurring to me how foolish I was. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

Maybe I'm just not good for all of this? 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Groose

There was that one time when you and your friends kicked me around. I remember having a problem with a knee back then. I don't know if I owned it to you or fencing lessons but that's when I lost my balance and fell off the end of the island. If it weren't for one of the patrolling knights, I probably wouldn't be here anymore. Let me refrain from judging whether it was good or bad. It’s just... you've always been terrible to me but I'm not blind, I know you're trying to correct yourself and redeem your sins. So here is my request. Could you just leave me alone? I feel horrible enough, it would be nice to get some sleep from time to time.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Groose

I don't know if you care or not and I would rather _not_ write to you about it, but I'm slowly running out of paper and I need to talk to someone.

This escape was a stupid idea. I don’t know where I am and there are monsters everywhere. I thought if I walked in the woods I would eventually find a portal but there is nothing like that here. I don't know where my companions are either, ~~not like I want to come back to them.~~ So I’ll be honest with you - I don't know if I can make it out alive.

And believe me, if I had a choice, I wouldn't write this to you. The problem is, I apparently _don't_ know anybody besides you.

If I don't come back, please help Zelda. I don't want her to be sad because of me, I know you always liked her and that you wouldn’t touch a hair of her head but I swear to Goddess if you do something to her I'll come out of the pit of hell and make you regret the day you were born.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

I love you, you know? I don't think I told you this enough times while I was still in Skyloft. You are the best and I couldn't dream of a better friend. 

I'd like to see you again.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

I'm sorry for everything.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

Maybe I'm getting delusional from lack of sleep, but when I look up to the sky and spread my arms while walking over the edge I feel like I can fly and my heart is actually beating.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

Why is it so hard?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

I don’t know what to do. I don't want to stay here, but I can't go back to camp. Goddess knows how long I’ve been here. The others consider me a burden and I can’t even blame them.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

I collapsed today. I’m not feeling all that well. I should seek some shelter until I feel better. ~~Ha, as if~~

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

Fi burned me today. I guess I’m not all that worthy.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

I woke up in the middle of the road. I don’t remember being here.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

What would you do if you were in my position? Stupid question, you wouldn't find yourself in this situation in the first place. I'm sorry, I'm being bitter again.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

I've been thinking lately and

I am a terrible person.

It is quite strange but that thought doesn’t tire me so much anymore. I guess I just accepted it.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

Today I woke up with a weird thought in mind. That maybe I should go back to the camp and somehow explain all of this.

I must be going crazy.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

The thought haunts me.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dear Zelda

I struggled with the decision for several days and I decided. I'll go to the camp. I have nothing left to lose, neither pride nor hope. The only thing I have at the moment are doubts. After all, when I look back, neither of them raised a hand on me, some even tried to reach out to me ~~though that was before I ruined everything.~~ I have to make sure. I have to check it. I'll go to the camp tomorrow, ~~I’ve seen it a few days ago near a stream.~~ I don't want to promise you the impossible but I'll try to go there with an open mind. If it turns out that I was right from the beginning… I won’t do anything stupid, not again.

The reasoning behind my actions is objectively saying - silly.

I recently finished carving your loftwing. He came out a bit lopsided - ~~mostly because my hands wouldn't stop shaking.~~ I don't have paints with me so it still lacks the royal blue colour but I think it can be distinguished from others, after all he’s just as unique as his soulmate.

I want to give it to you. That’s the only reason. 

Maybe that’s enough.

Forever yours

Link

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have mixed feelings about this chapter. On one hand I like it but on the other… I find Sky annoying in this one. It’s probably due to the form I choose, but oh well IT’S THE LAST ONE WOOOOO. 
> 
> I didn't think it would take me so long. Looking at this from a big picture I must say it was an exciting experiment. I definitely learned a few useful things while writing this.
> 
> The only thing I regret is Legend’s chapter mainly because he was growling at Sky for the whole chapter and generally acting like a prick. 
> 
> Though now that I mentioned my least favourite I should also reveal which I like the most. Will it come as a surprise if I say it’s Sun’s? I mean it’s rather obvious since I adore her so much that I throw her into my every work…
> 
> Also which one one you liked or not the most? I’m honestly curious. I have a feeling like I made most of the characters... not so nice, but it as well may be my overinterpretation haha.
> 
> Uh I’m terrible at ending things. Just… thanks for reading and being patient with my loose updating and my not top tier translating skills.


End file.
